Going back to Mongu.

So this past weekend I went home. Back to Mongu.  So I say I went home because as we were driving into town, that’s what it felt like, going home.  It was this overwhelming sense of nostalgia.  And it’s not like I’ve been gone for that long.  It’s only been a little over a month.  But I have all of these feelings wrapped up in Mongu.  My friends, colleagues, community....as much as I have loved making the move to Lusaka, I've missed living in small town Zambia this past month.  I went back for my friend’s going away party.  She was one of my closest friends in Mongu and I will miss her ‘too much’ as we say here.  We had a crazy weekend dancing at the Mongu clubs, having a braii on the plains, watching the Makishi perform and just generally enjoying a weekend away.  I’m grateful that I can still go back occasionally to visit.  I'm sure as more time passes it will be easier.  Lusaka will start to feel like home.  But, for now, I still love this little western town.

Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend.  In Zambia, the Luvale people hold the 'Makishi festival' to mark the end of the an initiation period. We had the opportunity to see some of the Makishi perform the afternoon of my friend's going away party in the Mongu plains which was really interesting.  Boys (usually ages 8-12) are taken into the bush for 1–2 months where they undergo several rites of passage into manhood. These involve learning certain survival skills, learning about women and how to be a good husband, learning about fatherhood, and also they are circumcised. To celebrate the boys' completion of their initiation the Makishi festival welcomes them back to the village as men. The night before boys from the village take their masks to the graveyard and sleep there, allowing the spirits of their ancestors to enter them. The following evening they appear in the village with their masks. Although the other members of the community know roughly who is taking part, they do not know who is under which mask. The masks represent specific characters.  I've posted a few pictures in my photo album if you get a chance to take a look (more to come soon so keep checking back...)!

The plains of Mongu.  

One of the Makishi.