The music was loud and lively, the crowd was dense and dancing, the spirit was encouraging and enlightening!

            That describes some of my initial impressions of the Fifth Annual Tonga Cultural Festival, held at the end of August in the Southern Province village of Chikuni.  Sponsored by the Chikuni Community Radio Station, this two-day event drew over 10,000 people, mostly from the surrounding area, to celebrate and strengthen the rich Tonga culture.

            The festival brought together 105 bands, dancing groups and individual singers (up from 95 the previous year, and out of over 150 who auditioned).  Two things struck me: first, how many of the groups included both old and young people together, and second, how simple and locally-constructed were the instruments used.

THE THEME

            A beautiful young woman, in traditional dress embroidered with coloured beads, stated very clearly the theme of the gathering during the first day.  “We stand at a crossroads,” she said, “as we can move into a western modernized world and leave behind completely our Tonga culture, or we can choose to advance with our culture enriching us along the way.”  Representing the Mukanzubo-Kalinda Institute (a Jesuit sponsored cultural research and promotion programme), the young woman raised the question on many minds: “Tuya kuli? Where are we going to?“

            The message was clear: we are together, and we do not need to import outside fancy things to make us happy!

            Of course, there was one “outside imported thing” that did make the people happy: the very impressive sound system that put even the smallest voices clearly into everyone’s ear.  Besides the hi-tech in the sound, I also noted mobile phone “top-up” cards being sold among the booths offering traditional foods.   And the salaula (second-hand) t-shirts gave out many mixed messages: “Hurrah for Saddam Hussein” (with fancy photos), “I breast feed” (on a young man), and “Jesus is the answer” (but the question?).

            The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information spoke on the second day about the fact that music is not only a personal expression but also a community builder.  He noted that globalisation threatens the Zambian cultural identity, and events like the Chikuni festival are very important to keep alive and honoured the traditions.  He reminded me of the powerful proverb that expresses a truth all-too-often forgotten in development efforts: “There is no growth without roots!”

            The massive crowd -– all standing except several hundred children seated at the foot of the raised stage -– responded energetically to the messages.  There were roars of approval when lively groups of singers and dancers emphasised the needs of the people.  An old woman, singing to the accompaniment of the “Namalwa” (a horn-like instrument played with a bow), emphasised the promotion of better agricultural policy, calling about government officials to pay attention to the need to improve marketing opportunities for the local farmers.  A young boy – silencing the crowd with a loud opening cry of “Getti quieti!” – called for harder work and less reliance on outside help.  Good clean water was sung about in ways that made clear this important need!

            The Chikuni Radio sponsors and the Mukanzubo-Kalinda Institute make it clear that culture is not a dead thing to be preserved – like in a museum – but a very live thing that needs to be nurtured through memory and development.  The music all was coming from within the culture – I did not hear any Congolese “kwasa-kwasa” or any American “rap”!  I do wonder whether national radio stations in Zambia place as much value on the culture of the people.

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION

            The fact that it is a community radio station run by the oldest Jesuit mission in Zambia (next year celebrating 100 years!) which sponsors the Tonga Cultural Festival raises a very interesting theological issue and points to a very important pastoral approach.  I reflected on the significance of this, particularly since the Festival opened on the feast day of that great African theologian, St. Augustine of Hippo!

            As has been noted in many church histories, early missionaries did not always take kindly to local culture manifestations.  Some banned local music, especially if it included drumming, from church services and even discouraged its use on many other occasions.  (One old Jesuit missionary in Chikuni was given the Tonga nickname, “Singoma,” which means, “The drum breaker,” because of his rather violent antipathy to local music!)  “Europeanisation” often appeared to be the rule of the day.

            But in recent decades a deeper appreciation of local culture has grown, with the theological insight that our God is much “bigger” than European images might earlier have dictated.  “Inculturation” has become the norm – how to assure that the Christian faith is genuinely Christian and authentically African.  This has meant a pastoral approach that has incorporated local African cultural manifestations (in Zambia, this means Tonga, Nyanja, Bemba, Lozi, and many more) into liturgies, sacramental events, prayers and theological discourse, challenging many older ways of doing and thinking.

            So when the Chikuni Radio Station lifts up the Tonga culture and the Mukanzubo-Kalinda Institute asks, “Where are we going to?”, there is definitely something more than entertainment occurring.  To echo again the Permanent Secretary’s remarks, community is being built.  And it is a community with greater hope in the future, since it is certainly true that, “There is no growth without roots!”

Peter Henriot, S.J.
JCTR staff
Lusaka