Representation of music in Zambia: the origin of music

Representation of music in Zambia: the origin of music. Definition of territorial boundaries and access to land resources have been central themes in politics and religion in South Central Africa throughout history. Whenever the origin of certain music is mentioned, one tries to integrate its owners and users into these themes.

Music from the river lands and from the higher lands

On a rather abstract level, mulundu (the higher lands between the rivers) music is felt to be typically Lala. It is associated with light music, old local music, Ciwila, Kaluwe, ing’omba, cinsengwe and men. Nika (rivers and the directly surrounding lands) music is felt to be more external. It is associated with heavy music, Mwami, chiefs, rain and women.
As soon as more detail was brought into the discussion the distinction blurred.
The Chibale position in this is rather extreme when compared to other areas within the Kaonde-Lamba-Lenje-Lala area. All ‘real Lala’ music comes from the mulundu. The nika music often is considered to derive from somewhere else.

We organise a Cibombe ca Ntongo every year to have the cult group members eat first food grown by natural rains. It is not known here since the Lala are oriented to the mulundu. Those [the spirits] from the river need something to eat annually. In the Swaka, Lima, Lenje and Lamba regions this is normal, but not here with all these Ciwila possessed.
Salati Mukoti ∵ personal communication, 1985.

The mulundu orientedness of Chibale

Representation of music in Zambia: the origin of music. The coming of Mwami brought confusion to a self-description of (older) local culture predominantly in male, and associated, terms. The latter might have been related to the gaining of control by men through the money acquired with migration labour. Additionally, a relation is likely of the dominance of mulundu before the 1980s with the demise of the chieftainship a century earlier. There is an association of chieftainship with rivers, rain and water throughout South Central Africa. The demise of the more ‘nika-oriented’, chiefly cult then caused older, ‘mulundu-oriented’ cults to gain room. And the remaining chiefly cult took on more mulundu characteristics.

An example

When spirits from the river (nika) heal, it has to be done in a densely grown grove of trees (mushitu) near the source of a river while the spirits of the higher grounds (mulundu) heal on the higher grounds with medicines from the higher grounds. Mwami and Moba belong to the river and Ciwila and Kaluwe to the higher grounds. So, in former days the shing’anga here were less powerful since they could only work from the higher grounds. When Mwami came in, this was a great progress since they could do Kubuka which can not be done by spirits from the higher grounds. Before that people afflicted by nika illnesses died. […]
It is not easy to say what the difference is between music from the higher grounds and the river. It is the fact that the particular music is used by spirits from the higher grounds or from the river that determines the music to be called like that.
Alube Mika ∵ personal communication, 2004.

In this analysis the pre-Mwami situation is considered to have been so mulundu-oriented that healing power was impaired.

Conclusion

Representation of music in Zambia: the origin of music. The mulundu-nika distinction runs more or less parallel to the light-heavy distinction but is much less clearly expressing musical differences than light and heavy do. It is primarily concerned with differentiating those associated with the higher lands and those associated with the river lands.

Representation of music in Zambia: the origin of music.