Celebrating "Zam-style"

This past week everyone was very busy at the Mango Tree, preparing for Zambia’s Independence Day on October 24 (Wednesday). This year, Zambia is celebrating 43 years of freedom from British colonial rule. A few weeks ago I asked some people from the village what they normally did to celebrate this holiday and they shrugged their shoulders and said “nothing”. Since then, the staff at the Mango Tree and I have been planning a village-wide celebration. We wanted to have a time when the village could gather and enjoy themselves while also strengthening their national identity and pride, remembering the history of their country’s struggle for independence, and honoring the village’s “freedom fighters” (those who fought against the British) who are still living. We had many things planned, including a speech by the village headman (himself one of the “freedom fighters”), sharing his experience of the revolution of 1963-4. It was fascinating to hear his story of how the Zambian rebels fought against the British with bows and arrows whose tips were dipped in poison. After the speech, the Mango Tree’s preschool prepared some songs and short poems about Zambia and independence. I wanted our celebration to be a fun and carefree time for everyone so we planned a few games and competitions, including several traditional dance competitions, a few eating competitions, and an “apple bobbing” competition. After these festivities, we planned to invite the “freedom fighters” and several honored guests into the Mango Tree to serve them a traditional meal of nshima, cassava leaves, beans, and goat (yuck).

So, the morning of the celebration was full of preparation. We were scrambling to get everything set up before the 10am start time. Of course, in “Zam time”, this means an 11am start time J As the headman began to give his opening speech, dark clouds rolled in from over the mountains and drifted toward the Mango Tree. (You must know that it has been bone-dry since I got here - with one freak-incident of rain – so it didn’t even occur to me that rain could threaten our party). Keeping my eyes on the black clouds that were almost directly over the Mango Tree, I leaned over to my friend, ba Joyce, and nodded up at the sky. “Look at those clouds….do you think it will rain??” “Oh yes,” she replied, “it always rains on Independence Day. Every 24^th of October it rains”. Hmmm…..Why didn’t someone mention that to me while we were planning this party….. Before I knew it, big drops of rain started pelting my face and a large rumble of thunder drowned out the closing words of the headman’s speech. The crowds started to scatter. Most ran into the Mango Tree. I ran to the nearest open-air hut, hoping the rain would pass quickly. No such luck. The rain pounded the ground, quickly turning the dry, red earth to thick mud.

And if rain wasn’t enough to dampen our spirits, the hail was. Hail stones the size of marbles fell from the sky, bouncing off the ground like popping popcorn. “Are you kidding me?!?” I asked in disbelief. Ba Joyce confirmed my suspicion, “oh yes….the rainy season has started today.”

Well, despite the weather we still managed to have a lot of fun. After the rain showed no signs of letting up, we crammed as many as we could into the Mango Tree while the others stood on tiptoes to peek through the windows and watch as the competitions began inside. Just when I thought the Mango Tree might explode as a result of too many bodies packed into one building, the rain would fade to a drizzle we would move the party outside. We had to move indoors one more time but we were able to finish the celebration outside. The meal was a big success. The freedom fighters talked and laughed and ate together loudly. They all had big smiles on their faces – I think they felt proud and honored.

With a belly full of nshima I made the trek back to my place, exhausted from the long day. It was interesting to reflect on my own reaction to the day’s events. My first response was one of irritation that our party was going to be ruined by the weather. I asked God why it was so necessary to start Zambia’s rainy season on October 24^th. Even after we moved inside to continue the party I was still upset, annoyed that it was so crowded and hot, and worried that people were not having fun. But when I took a moment to really look around, I saw so many happy faces. We were packed like sardines into the small building, but everyone was laughing and enjoying each other. I was the only one that seemed bothered by the rain. I suddenly remembered that someone had told me that a normal Independence Day involved nothing special, and I realized that if we had not had this party everyone would just be sitting at their huts. Many of the men and some women would spend the day getting drunk on their home-brewed beer. And they would not be together as a community, enjoying each other. So, maybe God sent the rain to remind me that I am not in control, and also to bring the community even closer (way closer!) together. Maybe. Just a hunch….