Lusata Festival is an annual festival for all

Mafwe The Mafwe are one of the tribal peoples of the country of Namibia, and one of the 38 groups that comprise the Lozi people. Fwe language: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fwe_language Kings and leaders Leaders since Kabende Sita carry the honorary ti ...

tribal people of

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and nearby countries.Alt URL
/ref> The Mafwe people are one of the largest ethnic groups in the

Caprivi Region The Zambezi Region is one of the 14 regions of Namibia. It is located in the north-eastern part of the country. It is largely concurrent with the major Zambezi River where it gets its name from. The region has eight constituencies and its capi ...

. They speak ChiFwe. The festival celebrates traditional values, commemorates the past, and looks forward to the future. It occurs annually in the last week of September. The festival's name is a reference to the royal mace an ivory-encrusted stick. Most people from all villages in Caprivi come to celebrate by dancing and feasting. It always is held in the village where the king stays in Chinchimani village, 6 km away from

Katima Mulilo Katima Mulilo or simply Katima is the capital of the Zambezi Region in Namibia. It is located in the Caprivi Strip. It had 28,362 inhabitants in 2010, and comprises two Constituencies of Namibia, electoral constituencies, Katima Mulilo Rural and ...

. The king advises his people on how to reduce crime in the community, the region and even nationwide. The king of the Mafwe is George Simasiku Mamili and the name Mamili is a royal name of Mafwe kings. The festival was always controlled by Induna Silalo and the Ngambela of the traditional court. The king used to wear traditional clothes such as the skin of a tiger and other animal skins. Most Mafwe celebrate Lusata like Zambians since they are from Zambia and Lusata is the stick of the chief which traditionally unites people. The government of Namibia used to help with transport to take people from distant villages such as Malengalenga, Linyanti, and others. Most chiefs attend this ceremony. Most chiefs from

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

to come see how the Mafwe are living. Before the current king the Lusata was at the Mulenenyi Linyanti village. Before the former chief Mamili Bebi went to Dernmark.

References

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External links

Lusata Festival attracts thousands
artsHub, Retrieved 2012/10/19.

by George Sanzila, 2 October 2012, Retrieved 19 October 2012. Festivals in Namibia Folk festivals in Namibia