The Nsefu Sector - South Luangwa National Park

The South Luangwa National Park marks the end of the Great Rift Valley, one of the last remaining unspoiled wilderness areas and possibly the finest wildlife sanctuary in Africa.

NSEFU SECTOR/CHIEFDOM

Why the area is called Nsefu!

The word Nsefu is a royal name describing the chiefdom or area administered by Senior Chief Nsefu and Nsefu also typically originates from a big antelope called Nsefu. This antelope is mainly found in Nsefu Sector and it's among the most highly protected animals we have.

Senior Chief Nsefu

Senior Chief Nsefu is the leader of the Kunda speaking people of Mambwe District.

Mambwe is a royal name named after the first Kunda chiefdom who died by turning into a baobab tree.

The Kunda speaking people have six chiefs namely:

Chief Nsefu Senior
Chief Malama
Chief Mnkhanya
Chief Jumbe
Chief Msoro
Chief Kakumbi

All these listed chief's report to Senior Chief Nsefu who is the custodian of the all Kunda land.

Traditional Ceremony

Each tribe in Zambia has it's own traditional ceremony and for Senior Chief Nsefu on behalf of the Kunda is Malaila ceremony held on every 28th of August each year.

Population

The area has in the recent past seen a lot of new settlers and this has tremendously increased the number of people in the area.

The population now stands at 7000 though this number is subject to verification meaning can be less or slightly higher.

Youths have 45% of the total population while women 40% and men at 15% of the total population

Staple Food

The major staple food for the area is Nshima made of mealie meal from maize grains.

There other foods that are eaten but Nshima is widely eaten and without Nshima families won't say they have food even if they have rice or any other food stuffs.

Other types of food

Rice
Potatoes
Sweet Potatoes

Crops Mainly Grown

The area has quite a good number of crops being grown and we thank God the area is naturally fertile and does not require application of fertilizer.

Some of the main crops grown are:

Maize
Rice.
Cotton
Soya beans
Groundnuts
Sorghum
Sweet potatoes
Sunflower

Main source of Income

Farming is the main source of income as most crops are grown for income purposes and surplus for home consumption.

Farmers mainly receive money once in a year of course after selling farm produce and they have to draw a budget within that means which has to cater for the whole year.

Sale of farm produce helps them to take their children to school.

However farming is mostly ruined by floods which wash away all the crops before they ripe and this is as a result of having abnormal rainfall.

Educational Standards

The area has 9 schools and out of which only one is a secondary school.

Generally it's now that the number of those who go up to twelfth grade has gone up. To be precise, at any group of 10 you only find 3 have attained secondary education meaning the illiteracy levels are still high.

Challenges in Education

School drop out is very common among girls and this is due to the following:

Early marriages
Lack of sponsorship
Pregnancies

the KUNDA people of the nsefu sector

The Kunda people trace their origins from the Luŵa and Lunda Kingdoms of the Mwatayamvo in the Congo Basin of today's Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the 16th century (Banda, Mbewe, Daka, & Sawka 2013). They then occupied part of the Lwangwa valley in the Eastern province of Zambia as well as parts of Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

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The Kunda claim their ethnic affinities with the Bisa group of people of Zambia that settled in their present habitat under the leadership of Mambwe, who is still a remembered figure. History has it that the Luŵa Chief Chaŵala Makumba had many wives, amoung them Kawa Chiloŵa. The Luŵa chief did not want male children as such male babies would be killed once they were born. Chiloŵa had only one daughter, Chiluya Manda. When Chiloŵa was pregnant, she decided to seek refuge from chief Mwani in the other chiefdom. She gave birth to the boy who was named Mambwe. The boy was kept by another chief Mwani. As Mambwe grew up into a man, he learned about what the father was doing and how he treated his subjects, Mambwe did not like the leadership of the father. After Mambwe, Chaŵala Makumba had other male children; these were Malama, Chula and Mcaca. On dates unknown, Mambwe, together with the mother, his sister and brothers left the Luŵa kingdom. They reached south of the Lake Bangweulu now Northern province of Zambia and stayed there for a short while. Mambwe continued with their journey until they crossed Lwangwa and stayed at Cikuntho. While at Cikuntho, and following their mother's death, Mambwe and his brother Malama went their separate ways and Malama decided to remain at Cikuntho while Mambwe and the group continued with their journey until they reached Citempha where he distributed land to his kinsmen from the Chulu clan. Tindi was given the area east of Luapula River at Mulomba presently known as Simzandu and named him Mambwe Mkongoŵala. Mnkhanya was given the area known as Nsenzi and named him Mambwe Kaŵindula. Jumbe was given Katomfya, the area where he is settled now, and named him Mambwe Mcaca. Later Chief Msoro Zazatike was given the area at Mutetezi where he built his palace and chief Kakumbi (Munga Kavunda) was given an area near Kafuntha stream on the east bank of the Luangwa River and built his palace at Kawelelo. Kakumbi and Msoro were both atenzi (in-laws) to Mambwe since they married the daughters to Chiluya Manda who was his only sister. Kakumbi had a task to care for the (ancestor shrines) Tuŵimba (Udelhoven, 2006:114). Mambwe himself settled at Citempha where he later fell sick and died in his old age. After his death, his nephew, Mambwe Nsakilwa, was the heir to the throne and this is where the lineage to the heir of the throne starts from to date. According to Banda et al (2013:17) “the Kunda people are organized along a matriarchal system, that is, descendants trace their ancestry through the clan of their mother's side.” The ethnic organization of the Kunda has three levels that is the ethnic group itself, the six chiefdoms and the villages. Their villages are headed by headmen who are the senior male members of the founding matrilineage and the position is hereditary, passing normally to the eldest sister's son. Each of the chiefdom is known by the name of the chief and his successor inherits the name together with the chiefdom (Mkunsha, 2014). The Kunda people speak a language known as Kunda which is reflective of the name of their ethnic grouping.

THE FLORA AND FAUNA OF THE NSEFU SECTOR

Photos: Kendra Carano & Zikomo Safari

The meandering Luangwa River creates scenic oxbow lagoons set amongst beautiful riverine vegetation of evergreen mahogany and ebony trees, and the area is a magnet to outstanding wildlife. You can expect to encounter numerous large animals here - elephant, Cape buffalo, hippo, lion, Nile crocodile, warthog, puku, impala, spotted hyena, greater kudu and eland are all common. Unique to the Luangwa are the Thornicroft's giraffe, Cookson's wildebeest and Crawshay's zebra, which are found nowhere else. However, for many the most exciting aspect of the Luangwa Valley is that it has the world’s highest naturally occurring population of leopard.

Source: https://www.wildlifeworldwide.com/locations/south-luangwa-national-park