NCWALA CEREMONY

The N’cwala ceremony is celebrated by the Ngoni of Eastern Zambia at Mtenguleni village in Chipata. The first crops of the season are blessed by the Paramount Chief Mpezeni. A bull is then sacrificed and some of its blood is drained and offered to the chief. Dancing follows and mock fights between the impis(warriors) recreate the various battles the Ngoni fought and won during their migration from South Africa to Zambia. The N’cwala ceremony takes place in February. This ceremony is just the same as that on the Ngoni of Zulu land in South Africa. They are basically the same people.