The Inquest in a Traditional African Society: The Chikondo Ritual among the Kaonde and Lamba People of North-Western and Copperbelt Provinces in Zambia

It is intrinsic to human nature to want to know why the death of a person occurred. The question of what caused death is almost inevitable. This happens in almost all societies, whether it is in advanced western, modern developing or in traditional societies. The need to know is driven by a universal desire to assume peace for the departed and perhaps an attempt to find closure by those that remain. In western societies, this inherent human trait has led to significant investment in advanced technology and technical skills designed to confirm or indeed detect cause of death. This has given rise to fields such as forensic and related sciences, all in a quest to determine cause of death. Developing countries such as Zambia benefit from these sciences. When the need arises, autopsies are conducted by qualified personnel to determine the cause of death. While it is common for the living to want to ascertain the cause of death, be it through western-style autopsy in contemporary society or divination in traditional societies, in some African societies, apparently, the dead reveal who caused their demise. The process is steeped in mystic rituals such as the chikondo. The ritual is common in Northwestern and Copperbelt provinces of Zambia. This study investigates chikondo ritual among the Kaonde and Lamba People. It also examines chikondo in the context of the African belief systems, highlighting the enduring belief in witchcraft which is the driver of cultural practices such as chikondo rituals.

Chikondo inquest belief system witchcraft spiritual

1. Browne, J. O. (1935). Witchcraft and British Colonial Law. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 8(4), pp. 481-487. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Cohen, W. and Odhiambo E. S. A. (1992). Burying SM: The Politics of Knowledge and the Sociology of Power in Africa. London: Heinemann). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Creel, M. W. (2005). Gullah Attitudes toward Life and Death. In J. E. Holloway, Africanisms in American Culture. 2nd Ed. Bloomington and Inidanapolis: Indiana University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Cresswell, J. W. and Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research Design: Choosing among five approaches (5th ed.) Sage Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Denzin N. K. and Lincoln, Y. S. (2018). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (5th ed.) Sage Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Gilbert, M. (1988). 'The Sudden Death of a Millionaire: Conversion and Consensus in a Ghanaian Kingdom'. Africa, 58(3), 291-314. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Jaobson-Widding, A. (1988). Death Rituals as Inversion of Life Structure. In S. Cederroth et al (eds), On the Meaning of Death: Essays on the Mortuary Rituals and Eschatological Beliefs. Stochholm: Almqvist and Wiksell International. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Mawere M. (2011). ‘Ethical quandaries in spiritual healing and herbal medicine: A critical analysis of the morality of traditional medicine advertising in southern African urban societies’ in Pan African Medical Journal 10(6), 1-8. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Mbiti S. J. (2015) African Religions and Philosophy [Revised Edition]. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Melland, F. H. (1923). In Witchbound Africa: An Account of the Primitive Kaonde and their Beliefs. London: Frank Cass and Company. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Frank, M. H. (1935). Ethical and Political Aspects of African Witchcraft. Journal of the International African Institute, 8(4), 495-503. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Makgahlela, M., Sodi, T., Nkoana, S., N. and Mokwena, J. (2021). Bereavement Rituals and their related Psychosocial Functions in a Northern Sotho Community of South Africa. Death Studies 45(2), 91-100. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Makgahlela, M. (2021). Beliefs in Ancestors and Witchcraft as Potential Determinants of Complicated Spiritual Grief’. Journal of Loss and Trauma 26(2), 192-201. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Mufuzi, F. (2014). The Practice of Witchcraft and the Changing Patterns of its Paraphernalia in the Light of Technologically Produced Goods as Presented by Livingstone Museum, 1930-1973. Zambia Social Science Journal 5(1), 50-71. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Ngangah, I. C. (2019). Vital Force, Personhood and Community in African Philosophy: An Ontological Study. The International Journal of Humanities and Social Studies 7(10), 48-55. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Okafor, O. S. (1982). Bantu Philosophy: Placide Tempels Revisited. Journal of Religion in Africa 13(2), 83-100. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Patton, M. Q. Patton (2015). Qualitative Research and Evaluation methods, (4th ed.) Sage Publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Tembo, S. M. The Witchdoctors are not Wrong: The future Role and Impact of African Psychology on Individual Well-being’, p. 5. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association held in Boston held on 4 -7 December, 1993. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Zimoń, W. H. (2007). Burial Rituals among the Konkomba People of Northern Ghana. Český Lid 94(1), 43-58. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Law Documents [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Penal Code Act of Zambia, CAP 87. The Laws of Zambia. Chapters, XIX, XXI, XXII and XXIV. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

22. Witchcraft Act No. 13 of 1914. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

23. Witchcraft Act No. 13 of 1994. Chapter 90 of the Laws of Zambia [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

24. Newspapers and Internet Media Sources [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

25. ‘A Flying Coffin used as a Weapon Kills a Person in Cosroo, Ivory Coast.’ 11 June 2015. https://m.youtube.com. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

26. Support Editor, ‘Bizarre - Coffin directs Pallbearers’, https://youtube.com, 4 January 2016. Accessed 21 October 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

27. ‘Coffin assaults two elders in Solwezi District’. https://www.lusakatimes.com. 10 August 2017. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

28. Zambia Daily Mail, 16 October 2017. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

29. ‘A Moving Coffin’, Lusaka Times, 10 August 2017 and 22 July 2021. www.lusakatimes. Accessed 12 August 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

30. ‘Police urged to ban “moving coffin” practice in Solwezi.’ Lusaka Times. Comments on the article. Https://www.lusakatimes.com. 6 March 2022. Accessed: 21 October 2024 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

31. ‘Chikondo: Flying Coffins and a Gruesome Witch Hunt’ The Zambian Observer, 26 January 2023: https://zambianobserver.com. Accessed, 11 July 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

32. ‘Hichilema, Chikondo and Witch Hunting in Zambia’: https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/02/25/hichilema-chikondo-and-witch-hunting-in-zambia/#google_vignette. 25/02/2023. Accessed: 08 August 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

33. Pastor Chanda. Your Family Matters: Heartache of natural disasters. Sunday Mail, 12 February 2023. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

34. Chihame, C. Headman stoned to death over witchcraft accusation. Sunday Mail, 12 February 2023. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

35. Interviews [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

36. Kapansa, Able. Lufwanyama, 25 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

37. Mwamba, Alfred. Lufwanyama, 3 February 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

38. Kasokela, Chola Moris. Lufwanyama, 14 May 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

39. Kanyaka, Dauti. Lufwanyama, 5 and 25 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

40. Shisala, Ilunga. Lufwanyama, 6 April 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

41. Kapalala, Musenge. Lufwanyama, 14 and 25 February 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

42. Muliya, Kelvin. Lufwanyama, 15 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

43. Nanyangwe, Mary. Lufwanyama, 25 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

44. Nkhuwa, Mathews. Lufwanyama, 23 May and 10 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

45. Mubili, Chola. Lufwanyama, 25 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

46. Nyirenda, Speedwell. Lufwanyama, 25 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

47. Kambela, Van. Lufwanyama, 2 August, 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

48. Machalika, Youngson. Lufwanyama, 15 January 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

49. Respondent 1 in Lufwanyama District, 17 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

50. Respondent 2 in Lufwanyama District, 25 June 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

51. Respondent 3 in Masaiti District, 20 March 2024. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]