Frequently asked

The Kasempa Royal Establishment is the traditional authority of Senior Chief Kasempa — the institution through which the Chief governs the customary affairs of the Kaonde people of the Kasempa Chiefdom in North-Western Province, Zambia. It is the seat of customary law, the keeper of the royal lineage, and the voice of the chiefdom in its dealings with government and industry.

Juba ja Nsomo is held on 6 June every year at Kasempa Boma, the traditional capital. Visitors and guests of the chiefdom are welcome; write to the Royal Secretariat in advance so that you can be received properly.

Juba ja Nsomo — the Day of the Tasting — is the first-fruits ceremony of the Kaonde people, hosted by Senior Chief Kasempa. The name means to taste. The Chief tastes the munkoyo, the freshly brewed sorghum drink of the new harvest, blesses the food and prays to the ancestors. Only after the Chief has tasted may the harvest be shared.

Bena Kyowa means the Mushroom Clan. The people were known first as the Batumba, the rain-water clan, and took the name Bena Kyowa while still in Katanga, before migrating south in the late 1700s. The mushroom appears on the royal crest and is carved into the posts of the Chief's throne.

Kamusongolwa is the granite hill above Kasempa Boma. Chief Jipumpu built his capital there in 1882, and in 1898 he defended it against the forces of the Lozi King Lewanika and drove them back. So many of the attackers died that the place became known as the Hill of Skulls. It remains the spiritual centre of the chiefdom.

Kaimbwe salt is the traditional salt of Kasempa, drawn from the Kaimbwe salt pan. Soil is gathered from the pan, the earth is burned, the ash is passed through a pierced dish, water is sieved through it until it runs clear, and the brine is boiled until only salt remains. It is women's work and women's knowledge, taught at the pan and passed down the generations. The salt is pressed and bound in leaf, then sold by the cylinder.

Kasempa Boma lies in North-Western Province, Zambia, on the plateau between the Kabompo and Lunga rivers, about 550 km by road north-west of Lusaka. It is reached by road from Solwezi or Mumbwa via the Kasempa turn-off.

Write to info@kasemparoyalestablishment.co.zm or telephone 0967 938 364, 0979 276 840 or 0957 178 688. The Secretariat handles traditional matters, land and boundary enquiries, media requests, ceremony participation and courtesy calls on His Royal Highness.