Precolonial Foundations of One Zambia, One Nation: The Role of Ethnic Cousinship (Ichimbuya) in Forging National Unity in Independent Zambia

Abstract

Community cousinship refers to social engineering to promote social integration, political reconciliation, and tolerance. This diverse interaction emerged in pre-colonial into colonial and post-colonial Zambia. In the western part of the country, the Kaonde and the Lozi have a cousinship dating back to when the former survived a Lozi military onslaught using Kamusongolwa Hill near Kasempa. Similar experiences persist in the northeastern part of Zambia. The Ngoni and the complex amalgam known as the Bemba enjoy this relationship. This arose from a 20-year war between Zwangendaba and Chileshe Chepela with no outright winner. It was only during the reign of Chitapankwa that the Ngoni were finally driven out. This article argues that ethnic cousinships, ichimbuya in Bemba, exist in Zambia as a form of respect for ethnic sovereignty after pre-colonial stalemates in military encounters. These cousinships were utilised in colonial times as shared colonial oppression established and consolidated solidarity between the Ngoni and the Bemba. The colonial state in North-Western Rhodesia was built on a network of community cousinships between the Tonga-Lozi-Kaonde-Lunda group and the Tonga. In North-Eastern Rhodesia, the Ngoni, Nsenga, Chewa, and Tumbuka established cousin relations with societies where Ichibemba was adopted and evolved from 1929 as the original language. Drawing from several diverse incidents, the article demonstrates that the great heritage of national unity, peace, and reconciliation expressed in the motto One Zambia, One Nation has historical foundations. Using cousinship as social joking, Zambian societies have succeeded in healing from past trauma, collaborated against a common enemy, and assisted one another in deprivation. The paper concludes with references to contemporary events that show how easy ichimbuya networks build courage and collaboration.