| zuidelijk Afrika: Namibië - Caprivi | |
Caprivi Strip - Lozi - Mfecane - Sebetwane |
In de Caprivi Strip, die zich vanuit het westen vanaf de Kavango Regio uitstrekt naar het oosten tot aan de Zambezi, wonen verschillende met elkaar verwante bevolkingsgroepen die met de verzamelnaam Caprivi worden aangeduid. Een deel van de Caprivi (20%) behoort tot de Lozi; alle overige Caprivi behoren tot een van de andere bevolkingsgroepen die ieder een eigen Lozi-dialect spreken.
De Mafwe, die Sifwe spreken, leven in zuidoost Angola, langs de Kwando River tot in Mudumu National Park. De Masubia vormen de grootste groep. Zij spreken Sisubia en wonen in het oosten van de Caprivi tot in Zambia. De Mayeyi en Mbukushu zijn kleine bevolkingsgroepen die in het uiterste zuiden van de Caprivi leven. Ze wonen in gescheiden dorpen ook al leven ze in dezelfde regio. De Mayeyi spreken Siyeyi en de Mbukushu Mbuku. De Caprivi zijn overwegend zelfvoorzienende akkerbouwers en veehouders. Daarnaast jagen en vissen ze. Als de Chobe en de Zambezi in de regentijd overstromen, komt de helft van het leefgebied onder water te staan. Ze verplaatsen zich dan per mokoro; een uitgeholde boomstam. Van alle regio’s/bevolkingsgroepen in Namibië is/zijn de Caprivi het zwaarst getroffen door de aids-epidemie. Lang voordat er in Afrika sprake was van grenzen en landen woonde de bevolkingsgroep Lozi in wat tegenwoordig de Caprivi, zuidoost Angola, noordelijk Botswana en zuidwestelijk Zambia is. In de 19de eeuw werden zijn verdreven dan wel onderdrukt door de Kololo die uit Zuid Afrika waren weggetrokken. In de Sunday Post Online (Zambia) stond hier over het volgende artikel: Sebitwane and the Kololo By History with Wana Kalala, Sat 29 May 2010, 04:00 CAT. Sebitwane was the chief of the Kololo people in the 19th century. They were initially settled in the Free State area of modern-day South Africa, but were forced to migrate during the Mfecane. They moved northwards, defeating various Tswana tribes and crossed the Zambezi river during the early 1830s. They defeated the cattle-keeping Tonga people and settled south of Kafue. Following attacks from the Ndebele, however, Sebitwane led the Kololo west into the Bulozi flood plain. The Kololo found the occupants of the land, the Lozi, weakened by a succession dispute that had arisen following the death of the Lozi chief, Litunga Mulambwa. After several battles, the Kololo subdued the Lozi, and settled in the southern area of the Zambezi flood plain, near present-day Senanga. The Kololo called the defeated Lozi people the Makalaka. Sebitwane introduced several changes to the kingdom during his rule, in order to maintain unity. First, he allowed the Lozi chiefs to remain in control of their people. He ensured that the Kololo language was spoken throughout the kingdom, consulted and took the Makalaka chiefs into his council and ensured that there were Kololo families in every Lozi village; these were required to collect and receive tribute on behalf of the king. Sebitwane also mixed freely with the defeated Lozi peoples and married some of their wives. Around 1851, Sebitwane met with David Livingstone as the Scottish explorer was passing through Bulozi. It was soon after this meeting that Sebitwane died, allegedly after sustaining injuries after falling from a horse. Sebitwane was temporarily succeeded by his daughter Mamochisane, who abdacted the throne in favour of her brother Sekeletu. It was during Sekeletu's reign that the empire that Sebitwane had built began to disintegrate. Unlike his father, Sekeletu did not mix freely with the Makalaka. He did not trust them, and this resulted in the mistreatment of the Makalaka. As a result, there was widespread unhappiness in the kingdom. The area around Linyanti which Sekeletu had made his capital became infested by malaria. Following Sekeletu's death around 1863, civil conflict broke out in the kingdom. The Kololo were weakened by the conflict. In 1864, a Lozi prince named Njekwa, the son of Mulambwa, returned from the north and restored Lozi power, bringing to an end 20 years of Kololo rule. |