BAROTSELAND

LEWANIKA IN ENGLAND, 1902

                                                                    The Northern Rhodesia Journal, 1953

“ It was in the year 1902 when King Lewanika and retinue was invited to attend the Coronation of His Late Majesty King Edward VII and the District Commissioner, F. Aitkens, accompanied him. At Bulawayo we took train to Cape Town and at De Aar Junction the High Commissioner of South Africa from Johannesburg who came there on the purpose of bidding farewell to the King, met us. After a few days’ travelling we arrived at Cape Town at about 6 a.m. and here we were entertained by the Deputy High Commissioner. Our day was spent on board the ship (Dornado) when Sir Colonel Harding, who was sent by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to escort King Lewanika to England met and joined us. That same day, in the evening, we sailed from Cape Town to England. This being our first time at sea, my colleagues, our King and myself were wonderfrilly astonished to find that every morning during our voyage we could not trace any view of land towards our destination, but only water and skies and therefore our presumption was that the sea and the sky were meeting together, and also for this reason we lost both hope of landing in England or of ever returning to our sweet home (Barotscland). In the very same evening when we sailed off from Cape Town, every one of us suffered a great deal from sea-sickness and therefore none of us was able to take any kind of food till the next morning when we began to eat some biscuits. Before we left Cape Town, my colleagues, namely, Khoatlc and Iwakutili (interpreters), Amba and myself (stewards) were given a kind of uniform. After sixteen days of our voyage the scenery of England was viewed when all of us ran to the prow to see the land. When we landed at Southampton, we first experienced a great multitude of people, some of whom were getting off from the ship and some of whom were getting on board, to our imagination we thought perhaps we would never get any chance of coming out from the ship. While we were still in such perplexity, two messengers, one from His Majesty the King and another from the Director of the Chartered Company were waiting on the beach to take our King to London, but our escort, Sir Colonel Harding deplored that Lcwanika and the suite were still tired to go to London at that moment, but should be allowed to go to his home first and get rest.

“ At Sir Colonel Harding’s home there came a messenger from the Director of the Chartered Company to take over our King to London for the measurement of his court uniform, which he was presented for the Coronation. He went there with the Ngambela and Khoatle and came back on that day. We were left there with his son, Imasiku, who afterwards became Paramount Chief Imwiko and his cousin, Lubasi. These lads were attending school at Kent and came there to greet the King. While King Lewanika was at the Director’s home His Majesty the King heard about him and then he was invited to sec His Majesty. After greeting him, His Majesty addressed Lcwanika that: ‘ I am very pleased to sec you. I learned that your country is very far away from here and that you have left your children, but you be patient, you shall go back and see them again ’. After spending two days at our host, we all took train to London. The King Lewanika was accommodated close to the Royal Buildings. The days he spent there he was every time invited to dinner by some members of the Royal Family and some of the Lords, but Lewanika was so hospitably that he never shown any sign of excitement. During those days His Majesty the King fell in a very serious illness which caused the community to be uneasiness. However, in the second week we received good news that the King was recovering. By this time the Premier Lord Chamberlain ordered that King Lewanika should be taken round England and be shown some important places and some factories till His Majesty would become better and go in for the Coronation. The first place we were taken to was at Sheffield, where the Lord Mayor entertained us, and we were taken to the factory where gold and silver were turned into coins and also where knives, forks, spoons, etc., were being made. The Lord Mayor there presented to Lewanika five kinds of knives marked on their handles: ’* King Lewanika ”. From there we were taken to a big tank which melts irons and then the liquids of which is turned into iron planks which we were told those iron planks were going to be used in building warships. Although we appreciated these yet we were exceedingly amazed about all what we saw. King Lewanika asked the Lord Mayor, that if they were making such weapons whom do they prepare to fight with. At first die Lord Mayor replied that they did not intend to fight anybody, but he afterwards returned to our King and privately told him that they were preparing those weapons for the Germany, and Lewanika afterwards recollected that when the 1914-18 war broke out.

“ The second place we visited was Manchester. The Lord Mayor of which, as at Sheffield, kindly entertained us. When we were taken to the factory where cotton is made into print we found that it is contrary that men should do what ought to be done by the Almighty God. Here we experienced the coolness of Europe as one can observe when looking at our photos taken while in England that we were trembling while we had many clothes on. Still at this place we were also taken to the fishermen and were surprised to find that there are people in the world who could catch more fish than we in Barotseland, moreover we were astounded to see so many kinds of fishes, some are like our Zambezi fish and some are like snakes. We were also amazed by their different kinds of nets. Even then Lewanika made some remarks to his Ngambela and to us all. Saying: ' Look here you people, to improve the country is to work hard and also is to kill some animals, catch fish and till the land ’.

“ From Manchester we went over to Scotland and here as in England an order was made that King Lewanika ought to be welcomed as a member of the Royal Family. But this never impressed Lewanika beyond his capacity, for he usually remarked, ' I know where I am received as a king and I also know where I am received as a friend ’. Here we were taken to Glasgow where we found lots of ladies spinning some thread. Then we were taken again to the harbour into the ship where many sailors arc trained, and were also amazed while in the factory to sec how the ships are constructed. While here in Scotland, we were joined by our Missionary, Rev. Ad. Jalla, who went with us to Edinburgh. We were very much pleased with this nice, clean town. What made us more amazed in this town was at the time when we were taken to the old castle where fighting used to take place, and by seeing the bended space where some bullets often struck. We went to the King’s park as well as to that of the common people.

“ We arrived in London two days before the Coronation and now we resumed to see many, many more amazing and wonderful events and things; the town was decorated everywhere. About 4 a.m. there was a very loud sound by the thunders of cannons and our interpreter almost went astray should the Ngambela had not caught hold of him. From then we did not sleep till in the morning. In the morning at 8 o’clock all the Lords wore their long uniforms which were held by the servants when they got into their cans drawn by horses. They were proceeding to the Westminster Abbey where the Coronation was going to take place. They did not enter the church but they made two rows, one on the other side ana another on the opposite. Next came those of the Dukes and the guard of Honour followed. His Majesty the King was pulled in a cart drawn by eight horses and each of which was led by a man of the guard. When the King entered the church the bell which was rung by five men sounded. He was there received by some old priests. His Majesty’s garments were held up by ten men. Then the Archbishop lifted him up to the Altar. He next took the Crown and placed It on the head of the King and took another one which he placed on the Queen. Next he sitted them on their chairs and after that the organs played. Then the Archbishop presented a Bible to the King, he began to ask him some questions. This occasion determmed in singing one hymn and then Their Majesties left the church.

“ My colleagues and myself witnessed this proceedings being outside the church and these being explained to us by one of the Princes from Ireland, but Lewanika was in the church during the whole of the proceedings.
“ We admired the Lords when coming out of the church, walking on the red prints spread along to their houses.
“ After two days His Majesty King Edward awarded some medals to the men who were invited to the Coronation. They all stood in a row when His Majesty took one of the medals and pinned it by the chest on Lewanika’s uniform ".

FRANÇOIS COILLARD'S LIFE AND WORK IN BAROTSELAND

27 November 2018

AUTHOR Sibeta Mundia, Barotseland Post

François Coillard, born 17th July 1834 in Asnières-les-Bourges, Cher, France and died on 27th May 1904 in Lealui, Barotseland was a French missionary who worked for the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society in southern Africa.

Coillard was the youngest of the seven children of François Coillard and his wife Madeleine. Both parents were of Huguenot descent. In 1836, Coillard’s father died, leaving behind a nearly destitute widow.

Coillard enrolled in the Protestant School at Asnières at the age of 15 and later attended Strasbourg University. He offered himself in 1854 to the Paris Evangelical Missionary Society (PEMS or, in French, Société des Missions Evangéliques de Paris). He trained under Eugène Casalis, a veteran southern African missionary, and in 1857 was ordained at the Oratoire in Paris. His first posting was to the independent kingdom of Basutoland (present-day Lesotho), where the PEMS had been established since 1833. When Coillard reached Cape Town on 6 November 1857, it was the eve of a war between Basutoland and the Boer republic of the Orange Free State; during the war, the French mission stations in Basutoland were destroyed. Coillard’s first task was to open a new station at Leribe.

On 26 February 1861 he married Christina Mackintosh in Cape Town, South Africa. She was the daughter of a Scottish Baptist minister and was five years older than her husband. Christina's enthusiasm for missions was kindled at the age of 14, after listening to the preaching of veteran southern African missionary Robert Moffat. She toiled as her husband's missionary co-worker and shared all the hardships of their travels throughout their marriage. They never had any children.

In 1865 Basutoland became involved in disputes with its neighbouring Boer nations of Natal and the Orange Free State. Coillard assisted in fruitful negotiations between local Basuto chiefs and Theophilus Shepstone, Natal's secretary for native affairs. In April 1866, Boer invaders from the Orange Free State forced the evacuation of Leribé mission. Coillard moved to Natal, where he assisted American missionaries. He occupied a vacant mission station there until Britain proclaimed a protectorate over Basutoland in 1868. Coillard then returned to Leribé.

Robert Moffat at Kuruman strongly encouraged Coillard to move north. Also, Basutoland churches proposed a mission by their own evangelists to peoples across the Limpopo River, who spoke Sotho-related languages. After the Boer government of Transvaal Republic turned back two Sotho expeditions, Coillard was asked to lead a third attempt. The new party consisted of Christina Coillard, four Basuto evangelists, and Elise Coillard (a niece to Coillard). When they arrived in Pretoria in May 1877, they found that the British crown had annexed the Transvaal Republic, which was now ruled under the governorship of Theophilus Shepstone.

After the missionaries crossed the Limpopo River, Shona chiefs would not welcome the group; instead, the party was forced to go to Bulawayo, the headquarters of King Lobengula of the Ndebele. Lobengula prohibited the missionaries from preaching in his domains, so Coillard led the group southwest to the territory of Khama III, a Christian Tswana ruler. Khama suggested that the group could try their luck with Barotseland (the Lozi kingdom), north of the Zambezi River, where a Sotho-related language was spoken. The missionaries failed to arrange a meeting with the recently elected Lozi king, but Coillard convinced the PEMS to support an attempt to establish mission stations in Barotseland. This plan was delayed by a trip Coillard made to Europe in 1880–82 and other complications in Basutoland.

Coillard finally mounted his expedition to Barotseland in 1884. The country was in turmoil with Lewanika, the former king, exiled and a usurper on the throne. Soon after Coillard established friendly relations with the usurper, another revolution brought Lewanika back to power. Coillard’s credibility was compromised by his initial diplomacy with the usurper, and it was only in March 1886 that he was received by Lewanika at Lealui, the capital of the kingdom.

From 1886 until 1891 Coillard worked to establish strong mission stations at various locations in Barotseland: Sesheke, Lealui, and Sefula. In an attempt to strengthen his grip on the kingship, Lewanika enlisted Coillard's assistance in negotiating for a British protectorate to be declared over Barotseland, similar to the one that had recently been extended over neighbouring Bechuanaland. However, the king and the missionary misunderstood the connections between the British crown and the British South Africa Company (BSAC) of Cecil Rhodes. Lewanika and Coillard were gradually entangled in a web of intrigue, which resulted in the signing of the Lochner Concession, which assigned the Lozi kingdom to the BSAC's domains on 27 June 1890. During the first seven years after signing the Concession, the BSAC failed to make any of its promised annual payments of £2000 or to provide any of the educational assistance that it had pledged to Lewanika.

Christina Coillard died on 28 October 1891 and the group of missionaries suffered a persistent high mortality rate, due primarily to tropical fevers. However, Coillard’s lively and moving letters to the PEM's offices in Paris made him a heroic figure to mission supporters in many countries. Many of these letters were published in 1889 as Sur le Haut-Zambèze: voyages et travaux de mission. His letters also appeared in an English translation by his niece, Catherine Winkworth Mackintosh (On the Threshold of Central Africa, 1897).

After experiencing serious illness in 1895, Coillard spent the period 1896-8 in Europe. By February 1899 he was back at Leribé in Basutoland, on his way back to Barotseland. However, a large number of fatalities ensued among the missionary recruits of 1897 and onwards. Coillard was further shaken in 1903 by a breakaway movement of his converts, led by Willie Mokalapa.

Coillard suffered a fatal attack of haematuric fever at Lealui and died on 27 May 1904; he was buried near his wife at Sefula.



REFERENCES

1. On the Threshold of Central Africa. A record of twenty years' pioneering among the Barotsi of the Upper Zambesi; translated from the French and edited by ... Catherine Winkworth Mackintosh. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1897

2. page 161 of 'Reality versus Romance in South Central Africa, J Johnston

SOURCES

Norman Etherington, ‘Coillard, François (1834–1904)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 accessed 16 July 2006

C. W. Mackintosh, Coillard of the Zambesi (1907)

E. Favre, François Coillard: enfance et jeunesse (1908)

F. Coillard, ‘Preface’, in H. Dieterlen, Adolphe Mabille, missionnaire (1898) Journal des Missions Evangéliques (1865–1904)

M. Wilson and L. Thompson, eds., The Oxford history of South Africa, 2 vols. (1971), vol. 2

J. Du Plessis, A history of Christian missions in South Africa (1965)

R. C. Germond, Chronicles of Basutoland (1967)

L. H. Gann, A history of Southern Rhodesia: early days to 1934 (1965)

A. Hastings, The church in Africa, 1450–1950 (1994); repr. (1996)

REVOLVY.COM

FILE: Mission at Sefula - A photograph by the British-Jamaican explorer in 1891/2 - Dr James Johnston

http://barotselandpost.com/.../francois-coillard-s-life...

https://www.liquisearch.com/fran%C3%A7ois_coillard

King Mwanawina III, KBE ( 1948 - 1968 )

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King Mwanawina Lewanika III, KBE was born on the 7th February, 1888 at Lealui. He ruled from 1948 to 1968 in Barotseland as the twenty first (21st) Litunga from Queen Mwambwa. He was actually the Litunga Mwanawina III, after the 10th Litunga King Mwanawina I and the 16th King Mwanawina II (1876 - 1878).

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His birthday was Mwanawina Lewanika

He was the third son of Lubosi Lewanika who became 'Litunga'.

He was born on the 07th February, 1888 at Lealui.

He was bestowed with the title of the Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE), c. 01st January, 1959.

He was educated at PMS Missionary School in Barotseland, Lovedale College, South Africa, and University of Capetown, South Africa.

He served in Great War as commander of Barotse Carriers in East African Campaign from 1916 to 1918. He was honored with Allied Victory and British War medals.

He attended the Coronation Ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in London in 1953.

He ruled Barosteland from 1948 to 1968.

He was knighted by the British in 1959.

He was pressured into signing the Barotseland Agreement, 1964 which attempted to absorb Barotseland by Northern Rhodesia to pave way for the creation of the so called 'Republic of Zambia'

His capital was in Lealui

His regiment was Imutakela

His Ngambela was Namakando Wina, Mukele Walubita, Imasiku Akabeswa, Muleta Imenda Minyambowe, Ndangwa Nooyo, and Imwaka Mahela

His shrine is in Sikuli

The Ku-omboka national festival of the Barotse

The Rhodesian (Central African) Annual, 1962

By Jonah Woods

Every country has its great national occasion and Barotseland is no different from others in this respect, but the annual Ku-omboka is a ceremony which is unlike anything else in the world.

The word “Ku-omboka” means literally “getting out of the water”, and this is when the Litunga of Barotseland in Central Africa leaves his summer palace at Lealui on the largest natural island in the Barotse plains for his winter capital Limulunga on the mainland, high above the flooded plains which stretch for about two hundred miles and are from twenty to forty miles wide.

There is no set date for the Ku-omboka and the chosen day is announced by the beating of the Royal drums to call paddlers from all parts of the plains. About sixty to sixty- five paddlers are required for the royal barge alone and they are made up of members of the Royal Family as well as members chosen from the populace. They wear animal skins over their traditional full-gathered skirts (Siziba) and wide belts of attractive beadwork. Their head-dresses are made from lion’s manes.

LOZI PEOPLE: UNIQUE ZAMBIAN TRIBE OF THE KINGDOM OF BAROTSELAND AND THEIR FAMOUS KUOMBOKA CEREMONY

https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/06/lozi-people-unique-zambian-tribe-of.html?fbclid=IwAR2Vu73p3-b7bPG2YTVECLATGKgfYy019W8kPmSUBe5YRgXVnridhpzRing

Nkhwazi Volume 11, December 1963

BAROTSELAND

There is a phrase—“ Special conditions exist in Barotseland ”—which, at first sight, one might assume to have been coined simply and solely to explain why Force vehicles on issue to the station are held together with string—or wire if they have been in for their monthly maintenance. But the phrase does, in fact, cover more than the conditions of the roads, the apparently limitless sand and numberless flies. The form of Government is completely different from that existing elsewhere in Northern Rhodesia. There is a flood plain approximately the size of Lake Kariba, and the fascinating customs and history of nomadic plain people make it a most interesting place.

This article would indeed be too long if I were to comment on each “ special condition In particular, I would be able to dwell feelingly—and verbosely—on road surfaces, to describe accurately the structural change in one’s spinal column, a change known by the name “ Barotse Back ” and closely akin to a slipped disc, induced by camel­like leaping of vehicles over the grass and sand roads. Then again, there would be the “ Fly Season ” to describe: here the most significant point is the way all pedestrians carry the flies about with them, in a thick coating on their backs.

After vigorous use of the fly-switch, the dark cloud rises momentarily before settling down again in a happy repose. Hence arises the old Barotse saying: “ No flies on him ”, believed to have originated in the era of magic, before the Flood, when one witchdoctor had a medicine so powerful that all the flies hovered at a respectful distance and even, so legend has it, fell down and died: thereby anticipating to some degree the era of aerosol. Present-day witchdoctors, no doubt attempting to find the formula for this medicine, practice on other human beings and, with simple inefficiency, merely reduce in number the species homo sapiens, thus multiplying the number of flies.

We find though, on closer examination, that not all aspects of life in Barotseland arc so repellent. At this time of the year, looking Northward from Mongu over the plain, visibility is limited by haze and smoke from grass fires, the two large clumps of trees marking out Lealui and nearby Luatile Mission fading into the general background. Some sixteen miles from Mongu are the boats, moored at the main river until the floods start in December; these sixteen miles representing over an hour's travel in a land-Rover. Coupled with October heat, the loose sand and clouds of dust, is there a redeeming feature? The answer can be found in the club on Sunday evenings when red-faced fishermen describe for the umpteenth time exactly how the sixtieth bream of the day was caught-all very interesting, if you have not already heard about the other fifty-nine. The fishing is quite superb, Zambezi bream being tastier and far numerous than the Kafue article.

By January the flood is rising, boats are right back in Mongu, and travel over vast areas of Barotseland is restricted to journeys in canoe, barge and launch. Sometimes the water's rise outstrips the "Matindi" grass, making the plain appear to be enormous lake, dotted with houses and clumps of trees. The club conversationnow emraces water-skiing, snipe shooting, the approaching duck season and the Ku-omboka, the traditional barge trip of the Litunga from the partially submerged capital, Lealui, to the forest capital called Limalunga. The actual date of the move is never known until a short time before, when the royal drums sound, calling paddlers to Lealui and the people to Limalunga to give the Litunga his traditional greetings.

 And so, on to May, when the duck season opens and evenings resound to the whine of outboard motors, the crackle of shotguns and the cries of "My God, sir, that was a fine left and right". Red-faced men are again heard in the club, trying to explain away the fact that for an expenditure of some forty cartridges only two duck were collected. This is the sort of thing: "You know, old man, all my bag went under the Matindi", "Some other b...s claimed all mine", "Ducks flying too high","Too much lead", Too little lead ”, “ Wrong cartridges ”, “ Useless bloody gun ”, “ Couldn’t see a thing after last night ”, and finally, of course, the classic, modest, quietly spoken: “ I shot badly to-night ”, implying to all and sundry that the speaker is capable of much better things. And perhaps he is! Get a rod and a gun, take a little local leave, and come up and see.

LORD BUXTON IN NORTHERN RHODESIA: AN INDABA WITH YETTA III.

The illustrated London News, August 12, 1916

These interesting photographs illustrate " a very important meeting between Lord Buxton and King Yetta III. (late Litia E. Lewanika), at Kazangula, 50 miles above the Victoria Falls, on the Upper Zambesi." The reception, or indaba, took place on June 26. Lord and Lady Buxton and their party had just made a tour in Southern Rhodesia, and by June 20 had gone to Northern Rhodesia for a short holiday. There is a scheme on foot for amalgamating Southern and Northern Rhodesia, but the High Commissioner made no definite pronouncement on the subject, saying that the Imperial Government would leave the decision to the colonists themselves. King Yetta III is the native ruler of Barotseland, or North Western Rhodesia. This and North-Eastern Rhodesia now form one territory known as Northern Rhodesia, separated from Southern Rhodesia by the Zambesi. It may be recalled that the late King of Barotseland, Lewanika, died in February last. He came of a long line of Barotse rulers, and succeeded in 1877. In 1897 his kingdom was placed definately under British protection, the King receiving an annual subsidy from the Chartered Company. Lewanika, who was an intelligent and broad-minded man, visited England as a Royal guest at the Coronation of King Edward in 1902. In 1910 he went to welcome the Duke of Connaught at Livingstone, North Western Rhodesia. After the war broke out, Lewanika wrote to the administrator Northern Rhodesia: "The Indunas and myself we want to call in all our people, and then when they here we shall tell them to make ready for the war to help the Government. We shall stand always to be under the English flag." King Yetta is following in the loyal footsteps of his predecessor. In the recent report of the British South African Company, issued in March, the Chief Native Commissioner says, with regard to the spendid loyalty of the natives of Rhodesia: "They view with calm confidence the termination of the war in favour of Great Britain and her allies. This is evident in that they continue to remain in a state of placid contentment unbroken by any unrest or dissatisfaction with the Government under which they live, and I have no hesitation in stating that, should occasion ever arise to call in their services for military purposes, they would loyally respond." During his tour in Rhodesia Lord Buxton visited Bulawayo, Livingstone and the Victoria Falls. On June 21 the party motored to Katambovu, where they went into camp for a fishing expedition. It was at this camp that King Yetta was recieved by the High Commissioner. There were 2000 Barotse present on the occasion.

Barotse Plains 25 KM From Mongu Harbour



HOW NORTHERN RHODESIA AND BAROTSELAND became THE REPUBLIC OF ZAMBIA [Part 1 of 2]