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University of Zambia

From a crisis to a ceremony: A history of the Kuomboka to 2010

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This study discusses the history of the Kuomboka. It focuses on the changes the event has undergone from the seventeenth century to 2010. Initially, no Litunga had a permanent capital. It was Lubosi Lewanika I in the colonial period who introduced permanent capitals at Lealui and Lubaci. In the 1930s, Litia Yeta III surveyed the present site of Limulunga and established it as a permanent summer capital of the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) in 1933. The study also discusses changes in the construction of ‘state barges’ in Bulozi and demonstrates how the Litungas gave praise names to them which later became their real names. This tradition is lost. Today, the ‘state barge’ is just referred to by its generic name, Nalikwanda. After independence, the Government of the Republic of Zambia under the leadership of President Kenneth Kaunda abrogated the Barotseland Agreement of 1964 in 1969. By this development, Barotseland was made part of Zambia and much politics were exerted on it. The Zambian government passed a number of laws such as the wild life Act which restricted the killing of wild animals. The Litunga, Sir Mwanawina III lost his powers over wildlife in Barotseland and this resulted to changes in the Kuomboka attire. The dissertation concludes with a discussion on the economic transformation of Kuomboka and observes that today; the event sells Zambia to the world at large and offers an advertisement opportunity for various companies.

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Sikayomwa, Patrick

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Rights

Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier.uri
http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/2313
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dspace.unza.zm:123456789/2313

Chain of custody

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University of Zambia
Base URL
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Last updated
2026-07-27
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citation

Sikayomwa, Patrick. From a crisis to a ceremony: A history of the Kuomboka to 2010. 2013. http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/2313