REWRITING HISTORY AND TELLING OUR OWN STORIES

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

Teaching history to adolescents can attract a lot of questions. A few years back in one of the junior secondary school history classes, a debate started and within a short time escalated into a heated discussion on who discovered the Victoria Falls.

‘There were people already living there’, came one argument.

‘Maybe they lived there and they did not see it’, said another.

‘Or they didn’t know what it was’.

‘They knew what it was’, the first one said, ‘that is why they called it ‘Musi-o-tunya’ in SiLozi or ‘Shungu Namutitima’ in ChiTonga.

I waited for their passions to abate and then it came, the question that was always directed at teacher, ‘what about you madam, what do you think? Did Dr. David Livingstone discover the Victoria Falls?’

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

 It is such and many related subjects that have distorted the historical picture of Zambia and probably many African nations. On the one hand, those children needed to pass an examination based on wrong information that had been authenticated in a text book. On the other hand, facts had been written from a perspective of triumphant discovery rather than respect and awe of a great wonder around which indigenous people had built a life.

Another type of misrepresentation rallies around heroes and heroines who made significant contribution to the historical development of Zambia. These great men and women have gone down unheard or information about them is unclear. One case in example is the history of Alice Regina Mulenga Lubusha also known as Alice Lenshina. Her religion has been deemed a cult and her activities termed rebellious and counter-productive. Well, only one side of her story has been heard. The truth behind her actions will never really be known as what is mostly available are impressions that others had about her.

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

Therefore, how can a writer begin to retell stories from such a background? Creative art that draws from historical themes is faced with several problems. Is it possible to change Zambia’s narrative to one of triumph and victory and glory? For instance, is it possible to rewrite the victorious battles of the wonderful tribes of Zambia in a way that shows skill, power and knowledge rather than defeat and great loss? Can a writer outline the religious and traditional practices of old without demonizing the people that were associated with it?

Photo credit: Kafula Mwila

What sort of information does a modern day creative writer use then? With a lot of inaccurate facts and in most cases unavailable information, one would then have to take advantage of oral narratives and fill in gaps. For instance, the names of some traditional rulers and names of tribes were mispronounced by outsiders and the names have stuck to this day. Is it Mwene Mutapa or Mono Mutapa? Is it Mwata Kasembe or Mwata Kazembe? The Bemba or Lunda do not have ‘z’ in their language, so how has the country ended up with ‘Kazembe’ and not ‘Kasembe’, which is the word for ‘axe’ in ChiBemba? The Victoria Falls in Livingstone is a marvel. The surging of the mighty Zambezi River over the huge gorge is an attraction. Tourists come in hordes, especially between December and April, when the Zambezi is pregnant with a lot of water, to witness one of the mighty wonders of the world.  This is the most significant point of the winding journey of the river before it continues on to empty itself in the Indian Ocean. The geographical feature has put Zambia on the world map more than football has. It is amazing that the journey of the Zambezi that starts as a small spring hundreds of kilometers away in North-western Province, transforms into such a powerful force of nature. It was named after the Queen of England by missionary and explorer, Dr. David Livingstone. In his honour a large statue stands adjacent to the falls. There are two Africans who were with the explorer at the time of the ‘discovery’, Chuma and Susi. They are only lucky enough to be named after a lodge. Susi and Chuma were natives of Central Africa, probably hailed from the Yao tribe but very little is known about them. The couple were only heard of after the passing of Dr. David Livingstone in that they helped to transport his body for burial back in England. If we are to head ‘Toward a Zambian genre’, then these are some of the areas of history that need to be clarified, even rewritten.

WHAT'S THERE TO WRITE ABOUT ZAMBIA?

If you drive through Zambia you will encounter the most spectacular countryside. The vast savanna sprawls kilometers of beautiful vegetation. Each season has a story to tell about the magnificent transformation of the grass, the trees and flowers. Year in year out the tales become more and more interesting. The scents that fill the air are transferred over vast regions by the elements that carry great stories across lakes and rivers.  In the dry season, you walk over the soft crackle of leaves and perhaps feel a harder crunch of the fallen barks of the enormous baobab or sausage tree.  When you brave the early morning winter, you are met with the sweet smell of dew as it soaks into fresh grass and slowly evaporates with the winds.

Having lived in peace for decades n this beautiful country are the people who have earned the deserved titles of peace loving, warm hearted, hospitable. They are true to their land, their tribes, their culture and beliefs. They will tell you stories of old, stories of where their land begins and where it ends. They will share their fears, their hopes, and their brave attempts at trying to make it in the big cities of Lusaka, Kitwe and Ndola. They will sing songs, recite poems. They will dance to the resounding rhythm of drums. The people of Zambia are great stories in themselves.  You can read it all in their eyes, their smiles and soft spoken nature.Talk about soft, Zambia has had some hard times too. Its political development has been punctuated with pain and glory; pain from the loss of great leaders that once tried to bring the country’s ailing economy back on track.

This mighty copper producer has received its fair share of the rising and falling prices of the precious metal. The weather has not been kind either- hitting it hard on the staple food-nsima. The politics and the economy speak volumes of how this peace haven has waned from the glory of standing as an equal with the currency of its former colonial master to being defined as a third world country.

 

There is a journey that Zambia has made from the early Stone Age through to the Iron Age and now the country is massively influenced by technology that has helped it log onto the world stage. Yes, it is in Zambia that we have archived victorious soccer stories. We have shared the world Olympic stage and the feats of our heroes and heroines are yet to be written about.

Are you still asking, ‘What is there to write about Zambia?’ Well, there you have it-this country is ready for the literary world. You can take her on whichever way, fiction or non-fiction. Zambia has a lot of stories to share with the world but it is the writers that it is waiting for.