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The Nsenga, not to be confused with the Senga, are a Bantu ethnic tribe of Zambia and Mozambique. In Zambia, they are found in two districts of Eastern province namely Nyimba and Petauke. They are also dialects with the Nsenga Luzi of the Luangwa valley in Chief Nyalugwe, Mboloma and Lwembe and the Chikunda of Luangwa Boma (Feira). [1]
Their Senior Chief is Kalindawalo M'ndikula, who resides in Merwe 10 kilometers from Petauke Boma. The following are Nsenga Chiefs: Chiefs Mwape, Nyamphande, Nyanje, Mumbi, Sandwe, Nyalugwe, Ndake, Senior Chief Lwembe, Senior Chief Mboloma and Mwanjaw'anthu.
They are well known for their culture and artwork which includes bead work and basketry. They also grow groundnuts, maize, millet and sorghum for consumption and cotton (Thonje) as cash crop, and are popular for their Mbewa (Mice), a practice which they are often teased for.
The Nsenga language (also called Chinsenga) spoken by people of this tribe has been adopted by many groups in Zambia and diluted to Zambia’s widely spoken language Chinyanja or Nyanja.
The Nsenga people are believed to have migrated into Zambia around the 14th century from the Luba – Lunda kingdom of Congo, the current Democratic Republic of Congo, as distinct language. Nsenga means journey in reference to the tribe's long trek from Luba Kingdom. The Nsenga people share much more same culture with the lala, Lamba, Aushi, Swaka, Bemba and Bisa people due to strong historical links to the same pattern of migration movements as the lamba, swaka, Bemba lala and Bisa speaking people as they left Luba Kingdom in search for more fertile land. Nsenga dialect has much similarities to Bemba, Bisa and lala compared to Chichewa.
A typical vocabulary analysis on selected tribes with links to theLuba Kingdom, further proves that Nsenga was indeed a distinct language and clearly dispels the assumption that Nsenga could have been an off short of Chewa speaking people. Nsenga people originate from Luba Kingdom alongside other tribes such as lala, Bemba, lamba and the Bisa people. The Nsenga people are among the earliest tribes to migrate into modern day Zambia after the Tonga speaking people. It is believed that the Nsenga speaking people embarked on the trekking journey (Nsenga) almost at the same time with Bemba, Bisa, Lala. During this long journey, the Nsenga people had an intimate encounter with the Bemba people. Under the instruction of their leader Chitimukulu, the Bemba fighters ambushed a beautiful Nsenga woman (Lumbwe) whom Chitimukulu took as one of his wives upon capture. In retaliation, the Nsenga hunters were also ordered by heads of family clans (Tumvi) to hunt down Bemba women. At the time the Nsenga people had no Chiefs but organised under clan system of governance such as "enetembo, enemwanza, eneng'oma, enelungu, enemumba, enemvula" headed by Tumvi. It was this hide and seek tribal game, captivity of Bemba and Nsenga women that produced some similarities. Today, we have, for instance, some Bemba names such as Nkonde, Mwape, Ngosa (Nsenga call Ngoza), Lumbwe among the Nsenga people. While the Bembas will greet their visitors "mulishani", the Nsenngas will do the same by saying "mulityani). These are some of the many dialect similarities between the two tribes.
Despite historical review that shows the Nsenga people were to a large extent influenced by the Chewa people in terms of language, culture and way of living, the Nsenga tribe remains distinct in its dialect, traditions and cultural practices.
They are well known for their culture of hunting and artwork which includes bead work and basketry. They also grow groundnuts, maize, millet and sorghum for consumption and cotton (Nthovu) as cash crop, and are popular for their Mbeba (Mice), a practice which they are often teased for by their Bemba traditional cousins.
The Nsenga language (also called Chinsenga) spoken by people of this tribe has been adopted by many groups in Zambia and forms part of the widely spoken language Chinyanja or Nyanja. This suggests that the Nsengas could have been settled in the eastern province of Zambia much earlier than the Chewa.
The Nsenga people are also well-known for their ceremony called Tubimba which is held every last Saturday of the month of October. During this ceremony, the Nsenga people pray to their Ancestors for good rain and other calamities.
Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique to the southeast, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south, Namibia to the southwest, and Angola to the west. The capital city of Zambia is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of Zambia. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the north, the core economic hubs of the country.
Bemba, ChiBemba, is a Bantu language spoken primarily in north-eastern Zambia by the Bemba people and as a lingua franca by about 18 related ethnic groups.
Chewa is a Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix chi- is used for languages, so the language is usually called Chichewa and Chinyanja. In Malawi, the name was officially changed from Chinyanja to Chichewa in 1968 at the insistence of President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, and this is still the name most commonly used in Malawi today. In Zambia, the language is generally known as Nyanja or Cinyanja/Chinyanja '(language) of the lake'.
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Serenje is a town in Serenje District, Central Province, Zambia, lying just off the Great North Road and TAZARA Railway. Serenje has a railway station on the TAZARA railway. Serenje is approximately 191 km from Kapiri Mposhi on the Great North Road. Mkushi is the district west of Serenje. The Mulembo Falls lie near the town.
The Chewa are a Bantu ethnic group found in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and few in Mozambique. The Chewa are closely related to people in surrounding regions such as the Tumbuka, Shona and Nsenga. They are historically also related to the Bemba, with whom they share a similar origin in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They also share a history with the Munhumutapa. As with the Nsenga and Tumbuka, a small part of Chewa territory came under the influence of the Ngoni, who were of Zulu or Natal/Transvaal origin. An alternative name, often used interchangeably with Chewa, is Nyanja. Their language is called Chichewa. Internationally, the Chewa are mainly known for their masks and their secret societies, called Nyau, as well as their agricultural techniques.
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The Bemba belong to a large group of Bantu peoples, primarily in the Northern, Luapula, Muchinga and the northern Central Province of Zambia. The Bemba entered Zambia before 1740 by crossing the Luapula River from Kola. Several other ethnic groups in the northern and Luapula regions of Zambia speak languages which are similar to Bemba, but have different origins. The Bemba people are not indigenous to Copperbelt Province; they arrived there during the 1930s due to employment opportunities in copper mining.
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Joseph-Marie-Stanislas Dupont, nicknamed Moto Moto by the Bemba people was a French Catholic missionary bishop, who was a pioneer in Zambia's Northern Province from 1885 to 1911. He persuaded the Bemba, feared by the Europeans colonizers and by neighbouring tribes, to allow him to become the first missionary into their territory around Kasama. At the time the British South Africa Company (BSAC) chartered by Britain to administer North-Eastern Rhodesia was not in control of all the territory.
Zambia, officially known as the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the southeast of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around the capital and the Copperbelt to the northwest.
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The Senga are an ethnic tribe of Zambia, distinct from the Nsenga.
Lala-Bisa is a Bantu language of Zambia that is closely related to Bemba.
Lamba people are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group mainly located in the Central, Copperbelt, and North-Western provinces of Zambia. Lamba people speak the Lamba language, with Lamba and Lima the major dialects recognized.
The Lala people are a Bantu ethnic group found in the Serenje District of the Central Province of Zambia.