Chakwela Makumbi A Faith Event With its Traditional Spirituality Among the Soli Speaking People of Chongwe in Lusaka

Abstract

The article investigated the essence of Chakwela Makumbi Ceremony of the Soli people of Chongwe district in order to understand why it is performed and the emerging lessons centred on the spirituality and religiosity of the event. The article drew on participatory observations of the ceremony, interviews with selected custodians of the Soli culture and review of related literature on the subject. It shows that as a faith event, Chakwela Makumbi revolved around teaching people the moral values of God and how to connect to Him, the “Holy Other” in time of existential anxiety because of impeding drought. It is a sacred ritual performed for the expatiation and purification of the people in that those who participate must be of good disposition to God. The article was deemed significant for preserving the ways in which people worship God through the ancestors and utilise the ritual symbols. It also points to the ways in which the ceremony has some semblance with Christian faith principles which can be integrated into it.