Specialists through time

Of old, there were specialists in Chibale: the iron smelter, the instructress of girls, the hunter, the healer, and the singer-composer(-dancer). They all used specialised ritual, texts, music, and instruments.

To some extent, these specialists, with the exception of the iron smelter, still have a function.

• Iron smelting was forbidden by the British in the 1920s, and the iron smelting ensemble of bellows is hardly remembered.
• The instruction of girls and help with other women’s issues was a specialism that vanished after the discouragement of the Cisungu rituals by the christian churches during the Fetulo period. However, it was rekindled in the 2000s on the initiative of women returning from town, who brought with them the knowledge and practices of Cisungu that had persisted there.
• It is as easy for the outside world to start calling hunters poachers, as it is difficult to have the people consume enough protein without hunting. Hunting and hunting rituals still play a role, albeit no longer in public.
• While there is appreciation for western conventional medicine, it is readily recognised that it does not work in cases of illnesses and other problems that are caused by failing interaction with the spirit world or by witchcraft. Healing and problem-solving have therefore remained important, though for a given period this is related to the number of problems in the area during that period.
• And the latter also applies to the singer-composer-dancer. Mediums who are able to sing and compose, sing and dance, or sing, compose, and dance at important rituals. At present, they hold some importance at identity and cultural heritage occasions.