This festival signifies the closing of one year and the beginning of another. The Bai-ila tribe hold this festival to show respect to their ancestors and to thank them for providing food in the past year.
The festival is held in Maala on the Kafue Flats for three days usually on a full moon between September and November.
Shimunenga is a traditional gathering in Zambia held on the weekend of a full moon in September or October. It is held at Maala on the Kafue Flats about 40km west of Namwala.
The Ba-Ila people (whose language is closely related to Tonga) gather together, driving cattle across the Kafue River to higher ground. It used to be a lechwe hunt, but that is now forbidden. The event is accompanied with singing and dancing of traditional music.
Early in the morning of the first day, people gather at the shrine of Shimunenga, where traditional songs are chanted. There is also a cultural march past of women and girls in traditional attire, after which people are treated to performances by traditional dancers.
On the following morning, the drum is sounded and animals are taken to the river, where cattle are displayed in the traditional manner. The first cattle to cross the river will be those of the custodian of the shrine. This is followed by a demonstration of a mock lion hunt and pelican fishing.
The occasion is marked with traditional songs in honour and praise of the Shimunenga ancestral spirits. Celebrations continue in the village with pit-stops for traditional beer at different places. The shimunenga ceremony takes place in the middle October and November.
In Zambia, the Shimunenga Ceremony of the Ba-Ila people of Maala in Namwala District is celebrated on the weekend of the full moon in September or October. Early in the morning of the first day, people gather at the shrine of Shimunenga, where traditional songs are chanted. There is also a cultural march past of women and girls in traditional attire, after which people are treated to performances by traditional dancers.
On the following morning, the drum is sounded and animals are taken to the river, where cattle is displayed in the traditional manner. The first cattle to cross the river will be those of the custodian of the shrine. This is followed by a demonstration of a mock lion hunt and pelican fishing. The occasion is marked with traditional songs in honour and praise of the Shimunenga ancestral spirits. Celebrations continue in the village with pit-stops for traditional beer at different places. The shimunenga ceremony takes place in the middle October and November.
