In the Village: 25-28 May

Most everyone expressed a bit of trepidation about the village visit before we arrived. Would the villagers be friendly? What about the language barrier? How would we handle our tents, and our meals? Could our cultures interleave for a few days, and enrich one another? The answers are probably specific to each Zambassador. Ask any one of them about it when they return, especially because to a person, the village visit seems to have been an emotional, enriching, and thought-provoking time that provided as much insight on each of us as it did on Zambian village life.

On our drive up we were lucky enough to catch the youngest Banda sister, Tasila, on the outskirts of Lusaka. She jumped on board our truck for a while, to meet the students and talk a bit about her work. Dr. Tasila Banda is a remarkable product of the Banda family and Nyanje Village. She is the 10th of 11 children in the Banda family, but among her accomplishments were being among the female graduate in Natural Resources from the University of Zambia (Lusaka), she received a Fulbright scholarship to attend Arizona State University for her Masters, she received her PhD from UC-Davis, and then she has worked for many groups on conservation, from local Zambian conservation organizations to the United Nations, and now the World Bank. She also was sole reason I was introduced to the Banda family in 2008, and I am fortunate and honored to be called her brother.

We arrived to the Banda house in Nyanje Village, and we were greeted by sister Alice (2nd born), sister Nelia (6th born), Godfrey (3rd born), Adson (11th born) and finally the matriarch of the family, Mama (Levenia) Banda. Right from the start everyone felt welcomed.

Our first order of business was getting our tents set up in the yard of the Banda compound.

Then Alice told us that the Chieftaness was ready to receive us. And so we walked through the streets of the village to the Chieftaness’s new house, for reception, gifts, and greeting.

Chieftaness Nyanje was gracious and welcoming and invited us to sit with her. We all shook hands with her and her husband, and she honored us by putting on her headdress and bringing out her official Chieftaness wand. The students were also able to ask questions of her. I think many didn’t know if the questions in their heads would be disrespectful or not, so they were largely silent.

We went back to the Banda compound for dinner, and Alice brought us a treat of sugarcane. Students (and Professors) had fun trying to chomp into the canes as the villagers do.

The following morning was Sunday, and we were invited to go to church with the Banda family. There are five different churches in the village, and the Bandas are members of the Dutch Reform Church. Although the students knew there would be singing, they didn’t know there would be TWO HOURS of singing by at least eight different choirs. With another hour of a few bible readings and a sermon...the three hours on stone benches was a long time for Muzungu seats to handle. Still, the music and emotion was unlike anything any of them had ever heard before, and it will not soon be forgotten. We didn’t take video of all the choirs, but these are a few samples from the service.

We got called to the front to be introduced to the whole congregation.

After church we returned to the Banda compound and brought out a few of the gifts we had brought for the children - soccer balls and frisbees. As soon as we brought out the soccer balls, a game immediately began. Although the teams were 6-7 Muzungu versus 20-30 village children, there was lots of laughter and sweat and dust and fun.

That night we had a very special dinner - in our honor, the Bandas had slaughtered one of their heads of cattle and butchered it. We ate some of the meat from that and the rest was shared among family members. That such an honor would be done for us was a bit disconcerting, but to refuse such an honor would have been deeply disrespectful. I think we all were able to reflect a bit not only on the Zambian culture, but also our own culture’s typical separation from food sources. Every burger was once a cow, after all, and many of the cows we eat back home do not live the good lives these cattle do in the Zambian countryside.

The children in the village were lots of fun. They loved having their photos taken and subsequently looking at them. They also enjoyed being taught how to make noises with grass between their fingers.

After sundown a few of us walked down the road a bit to snap a few photos of the stars. In the photo below, under the clouds of the Milky Way, you can see the small lights of the village, and to the right, you can see the looming silhouette of Mt. Nyanje, the challenge that laid before our group for the next morning.

We awoke the next morning to a late breakfast (0700) and made ourselves ready for the arduous and fabled hike up the mountain. The mountains in the area are geologically interesting, although I know not their orogeny or provenance. I once found a geology article about the area, but was quickly lost in the terminology and I never revisited it. The landscape is somewhat otherworldly, and we wanted to see it from the top of the mountain.

The hike is not terribly dangerous, but it is quite rugged (no trail to speak of), and full of pokey and scratchy bits that claimed more than a few drops of our Muzungu blood. That was fair.

 One of our hosts, Nelia Banda, started up the mountain with us but later decided to turn around. We were sad to lose her...

The hike up was at times hot, at times prickly, and at times brutal. However, we all persevered with the helpful guidance of Peter, Philemon, Hasan, and Winfred.

We found a bird skull on the top of the mountain. Rebecca and Steph geeked out a bit. 

The hike down was equally pokey, but much less sweaty, and we took a final detour through some of the farming fields and up to the reservoir. This was more relaxed and allowed us to enjoy a bit more about the ecology of the area, like this camel spider, a currently unidentified butterfly, and these lovely red seeds from a climbing vine on the hillside (currently unidentified).

Once back at the compound, we drank a lot of water, had a late lunch, and some folks even adopted some odd yoga move to let the blood drain back from their feet and hands. I was told it was relieving. They were told they looked...well, you be the judge.

 Others decided to recover in a slightly more traditional manner.

And then off to bed for another short night of sleep, to arise at 0430 for packing of tents, breakfast and hitting the road. We didn’t leave without saying farewell to our gracious and thoughtful hosts. Mama Banda invited us all into her home for a final prayer of well wishes and safe travels.

We all relayed our sincerest and warmest thanks for their welcoming us into their home and village. Zikomo kwambiri, Banda family, and Nyanje Village.

Next up, South Luangwa - the grand finale of our trip. Along the way, our rides have been broken up by discussions of articles related to ecological and evaluation are issues we are encountering on the trip. Steph, our intrepid grad student is doing an excellent job leading those discussions on the truck!

Again, internet service will likely be limited in the National Park, but I will do what I can to get things posted.