Bemba

Willie Cannon-Brown

The Bemba are a branch of the ancient Luba Empire who acknowledged the authority of the chief, Chitimukulu. They reside in the Northern Province of Zambia and its neighboring countries with a combined population of approximately 1,850,000. The language of the Bemba is IciBemba , a part of the Bantu language family. Bemba religious beliefs and practices espouse a multidimensionality of the cosmos where Lesa , God, the Supreme Being, is the genesis and sustenance of all celestial and terrestrial beings. Traditional Bemba proverbs describe beliefs regarding the Supreme Being. For example, God is a divine being with dual aspects as expressed by the phrase, Mayo na tata , my mother and my father; and “Ubwile ubwapika Lesa tabupikululwa,” man cannot comprehend the mysteries of God. He is all intelligence, all ...

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