Lamba people (Zambia)

Lamba people are a Bantu ethnolinguistic group mainly located in the Central, Copperbelt, and North-Western provinces of Zambia. Lamba people speak the Lamba language, with Lamba and Lima the major dialects recognized.

Etymology
Lamba is ‘the act of humbling oneself’. Lambas are generally very humble people in nature.

History
Before colonial history in the late nineteenth century, there is little information related to Lambas. Portuguese explorer Francisco de Lacerda first mentioned the Lambas, in his journal entry on 21 September 1798, recounting that Lambas were trading copper and ivory to Chief Kazembe's Lunda, and the middlemen of Nsenga country near Zumbo, the Portuguese trading post on the Zambezi.

Social organization
However to understand their practices, one must analyze them through the lenses of the Lambas themselves.

There are four recognized traditional ceremonies in the Lambaland name; Chabalankata under paramount chief Mushili and the others are Ukwilimuna under chief Malembeka, Nsengele kunuka under chief Machiya and Ukupupa under senior chief Kalilele.