Kazembe (Mwansabombwe)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the town. For the Chief, Mwata Kazembe, see Kazembe.
Kazembe (or 'Kasembe') is a name used for Mwata Kazembe's 'village' (in reality a town) in the Luapula Province of Zambia, especially on maps and in the Zambian postal service (as PO Kazembe). However, the correct name for the town is Mwansabombwe ("where Mwansa works") and this is the one used by its Chibemba-speaking Lunda inhabitants.
Mwansabombwe is situated where the Ngona River enters the swamps of the Luapula River south of Lake Mweru. A number of channels through the swamps and lagoons connect to the main river channel about 5 km away, facilitating fishing and trade (mainly illicit) with DR Congo. The town lies close to the middle point of the main artery of the Luapula Province, the tarred road informally known as 'Zambia Way' running from Mansa to Nchelenge, and connecting southwards to the Great North Road at Serenje. A tarred road also connects eastwards via Mbereshi to the northern Zambian plateau at Kawambwa.
These features and its status since the 1890s as Mwata Kazembe's capital (which prior to that was at Kanyembo) make Mwansabombwe one of the largest centres of trade, population and culture in the Luapula Valley with a population estimated at 50,000. It retains a rural and traditional African character relatively unmarked by the colonial era leading to it being called the 'largest village in central Africa'.
[edit] Further reading
Wikipedia article on the Kazembe chieftainship and Mutomboko Festival
[edit] References
- David M. Gordon: “History on the Luapula Retold: Landscape, Memory and Identity in the Kazembe Kingdom”. Journal of African History, 47 (2006), pp. 21–42. Cambridge University Press.
- Robert Cancel: “Asserting/inventing traditions on the Luapula: the Lunda Mutomboko Festival”. African Arts, Autumn, 2006.
