Luchazi Cultural practices
Luchazi Cultural practices
The Luchazi people adhere to a rich system of customary practices and social behaviours that every member is obligated to observe. Handed down through generations, these traditions are rooted in the tribe's history and include essential rituals surrounding birth, adulthood, and death.
Luchazi traditional training
While formal schooling and written books is a recent addition to Luchazi history, education has always been central to life. Traditionally, children receive extensive training from their immediate family, relatives, and clan; instruction by strangers is strictly forbidden.
Luchazi folktales and maxims
The Luchazi possess a vibrant tradition of storytelling and proverbs that address every facet of life, teaching harmony and moral conduct. Moral instruction often takes place around the evening fire. Tales frequently feature figures like the monster-like cikisikisi, or animals such as the lion, monkey, and rabbit, who inevitably face consequences for their wrongdoings.
The Significance of fire in Luchazi society
Fire is a sacred element in Luchazi rituals, particularly during funerals and mungonge ceremonies. It symbolizes the inextinguishable spirit and energy of the people. Sayings like "VaLuchazi vavuekele tuhia mungongo" and "ku Luchazi kua livangele Ku-uema" reflect the belief that fire provides strength during hardship and light in times of darkness. Historically, fire was also the engine of achievement, powering the Lutengo (smelters) that defined Luchazi craftsmanship.
Traditional fire-making methods
There are two traditional methods for igniting fire. The first involves the muntelenge, a piece of dried wood with a hole drilled in the center. By vigorously rubbing a smaller stick into this hole, the resulting friction creates sparks that ignite soft tinder. This method is still practiced in some villages today, particularly during funeral rites when old household fires are extinguished and "new" fire is distributed to the community.
The second method utilizes the muhotolo (a piece of iron ore) and a stone. Striking the stone with the muhotolo produces sparks to catch the tinder. This was noted as early as 1881 by explorer Serpa Pinto (travelogue entitled "How I crossed Africa"), who marveled at the "Luchazes lighters" and wrote, "One unique thing I saw among these peoples I visited was their use of Luchazes lighters to make fire, with flint and tinder. And the flints they make are of wrought iron and tempered in cold water, where they launch them while the iron is red-hot. The tinder is prepared with cotton mixed with the crushed almond contained in the endocarp of a fruit called Micha".
The Traditional Clothing of the Luchazi people
Before the introduction of cotton, the Luchazi people crafted clothing from the supple skins of duikers and other animal hides (vilambu). These garments were primarily designed for modesty: women wore a bark-cloth covering known as a cilondo, while men wore a leather covering called a mukotola.
In his 1881 travelogue, How I Crossed Africa, Alexandre Alberto de Serpa Pinto observed, "The men wear a wide belt of raw leather, with buckles they make themselves; they cover their nakedness with animal skins, and shelter themselves from the cold with alphins [bark cloth], which they extract from trees in the forests."
Even infants had specialized clothing; babies were wrapped in the softened skin of the grey squirrel (ngele), which was treated with castor oil for comfort. Beyond utility, certain hides held deep status: the skins of lions, leopards, and pythons were—and remain—highly valued symbols of royal majesty.
With the arrival of cotton, the Luchazi began spinning thread and weaving a coarse cloth known as cindambua or cikeleya for both clothing and bedding. Over time, through the influence of missionaries and European settlers, Western attire was adopted. Today, the cloth wrapper is the essential textile for women; wearing one around the waist is a vital sign of maturity and respect. While men once wore cloth wrappers paired with shirts, jackets, and black felt hats for daily relaxation, this style is now largely reserved for important traditional ceremonies.
Carrying Customs and Motherhood
Serpa Pinto also noted a unique distinction in how Luchazi women carried their loads, using backpack basket (Civuvi), compared to their neighbours: "The Luchazi women use baskets that are different from those used by the Quimbande women and they carry them differently because they are suspended from their heads by a wide strip of tree bark and falling onto their backs. This way of carrying prevented them from carrying their children on their backs, as is common practice in Africa, instead carrying them beside them."
However, modern customs have shifted. Today, mothers commonly strap their babies to their backs using a strip of cloth called a likambu. The cloth is secured with a knot at the chest, with one end passing over the shoulder and the other tucked under the opposite armpit.
The Craft of the Cilondo (Bark cloth)
Bark cloth, also known as Cilondo in Luchazi, is an ancient, non-woven fabric made by stripping and beating the inner bark of specific trees. It is a plant-based textile that long predates the invention of weaving and stands as one of humanity’s earliest forms of clothing.
The Traditional Process
The making of bark cloth is a craft that demands skill, patience, and knowledge passed down through generations. A craftsman begins by making circular cuts near the top and bottom of the tree trunk using an axe, marking the required length of bark. A narrow strip is then torn lengthwise between the two cuts. By striking along the exposed edges with the axe handle and carefully wedging the bark away from the trunk, the fibrous bark is removed in one continuous sheet.
Once stripped, the coarse outer layer is peeled away, leaving the softer inner bark. This inner bark is rolled and boiled in hot water to soften it further. The craftsman then uses a heavy, carved wooden mallet—often with grooved edges—called cisano, to rhythmically beat the bark against a dry log known as musiko for several hours. This beating process breaks down the fibers, allowing the bark to stretch to as much as five times its original width while transforming into a soft, uniform fabric.
After beating, the bark cloth is laid flat and dried in the sun. When fully dry, it is often soaked in castor oil to enhance softness and flexibility, then dried again. The final result is a durable, warm, and versatile covering known as cilondo, valued both for its practicality and its cultural significance among the Luchazi people.
The traditional body adornments of the Luchazi people
In 1878, explorer Alexandre Alberto de Serpa Pinto noted in How I Crossed Africa that "the hairstyles of these 'Ngangelas' are very original, and some, from a distance, resemble a European lady's hat." He also observed that almost all Luchazi men wore beards and small mustaches.
Hairstyling remains a significant art form. For women, common braiding styles include matombi, minkuni, vikuti, mihanga, mafutika, and mambonge. For men, traditional haircuts like njombi, citenga ca ndulo (or katenga ka ndulo), and kakongo are preferred. These grooming rituals—including the cutting of hair and nails—are always performed by a family member. The clippings are carefully collected and buried secretly, as it is believed that these personal elements could be used for malevolent magic if they fell into a stranger's hands.
Zincato: Incisions for identification and medicinal treatment
Zincato, or shallow skin incisions, serve as identification marks, protective rituals, or medicinal treatments. The procedure involves rubbing a mixture of herbs and animal elements into the cuts. Python oil is often used for its curative properties, while talons from a martial or crowned eagle (ngonga) are used to enhance gripping strength.
To increase punching power, aggressive paper wasps or scorpions are processed with herbs and applied to the skin. Those who undergo these enhancements must observe strict food taboos; for example, it is believed that eating okra or certain types of fish may weaken a man’s newfound strength.
Scarification and waistline beads
In the past, traditional scarification was practised by the Luchazi people and was mainly practiced by the women during the coming-of-age rites to prepare girls for adulthood. The procedure involved cutting into the skin to create raised scars or grooves in a specific pattern called mikaka from the navel area down up to the waistline including the back up to the waistline too. These markings often had symbolic meaning and were considered to give sexual pleasure to her partner physical sense in bed. These procedures and rituals are no longer practiced because of conversion to Christianity.
Today, waist beads have replaced the scarification ritual. Waist beads are worn and are not supposed to be seen by anyone except her husband or partner. Wearing of waistline beads is part of the Luchazi women culture. Zikita refers to the girdle worn by women below their outer garment. Touching a zikita normally indicates intimacy with it's owner.
The art of Kusentsa mazo (Teeth Filing)
Teeth filing or shaving called kusentsa mazo was practised by some Luchazi communities as a mark of identity. In 1878 Alexandre Alberto de Serpa Pinto (How I crossed Africa) wrote, "All men cut their two front incisors in the upper jaw into a triangular shape, forming a triangular opening with the apex resting on the gum. This operation is done with a knife, which is then struck with small taps. ...In cambuta village (a Luchazi village), there, men and women without exception have their front incisor teeth cut into a triangle, so that when the dentures are joined, an empty rhombus appears, formed by the two triangles cut in the front of the teeth of both jaws". According to some Luchazi elders not all Luchazi communities used to practice teeth filing, and only those communities who were neighbours with other related ethnic groups such as the Chokwe and Luena (Luvale) people.
The teeth filing or shaving involved filing down the upper and lower canines which differentiated them from the other ethnic groups who used to file only the upper canines. To encourage young ones to have their teeth filed, the elders used to tell them that while asleep their teeth moved out to go into the faeces if they have unfiled teeth hence the bad breath, but in real sense the bad breath was the result of poor dental health habits.
Ceremonial painting and cosmetics
During traditional ceremonies, the Luchazi decorate and paint their bodies in patterns with red ochre (nkula/mukundu) and white chalk (mpemba). Red ochre signifies blood and boldness while white ochre signifies purity. The colour purple stands for royalty. They also wear bead-work and bracelets (makayi).
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