Namwala District is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of
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 ...
, located in
Southern Province. The capital lies at
Namwala
Namwala is a town and the seat of Namwala District in Southern Province of Zambia. It is on the M11 Road. Namwala town has a population of over 5,000 people. It lies on the southern bank of the Kafue River at 996 metres above sea level. It houses ...
. As of the 2000 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 82,810 people.
Geography
Namwala covers an area of approximately 10,000 square kilometers.
Namwala town has a population of over 5,000 people. It lies on the southern bank of the
Kafue River at 996 metres above sea level. It houses the administrative offices of Namwala District and is the principal town of the Ila people who inhabit the district. They are famous for their large herds of cattle with livestock farming, not surprisingly, their main economic activity.
Other major settlement areas in the district are Kabulamwanda, Muchila, Maala, Mbeza and Chitongo.
Culture
The district is also well known for, its
Shimunenga
In Zambia, the Shimunenga ceremony of the Ba-Ila people of Maala in Namwala District is celebrated on the weekend of the full moon
The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occu ...
traditional ceremony.
This spectacular event that takes place around September/October of every year at
Maala
Maala is a town and commune in Bouïra Province, Algeria
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village. The Ila people, the traditional inhabitants of Namwala District, engage mostly in cattle herding, fishing, hunting and subsistence farming. As a symbol of prestige, the traditional Ila do not routinely eat their cattle.. However, drought and disease have affected the cattle population.
The Ila are closely related in language and culture to their more numerous Tonga neighbours in Southern Province. The Ila speaking people of Zambia reside mainly in the administrative districts of Namwala, Itezhi-Tezhi and Mumbwa spread over seventeen chiefdoms.
References
External links
Namwala.com
{{Coord, 15.7519, S, 26.4444, E, source:wikidata, display=title
Districts of Southern Province, Zambia