#lozi

Nucleus House, Tietê, State of São Paulo, Brazil

In southern Africa, leopards have long been harvested for their beautiful spotted furs. These coveted furs are often used in ceremonial regalia by cultural and religious groups in the area, making it difficult to address the dwindling wild cat population in the area.

Bridging the gap between animal conservation and cultural heritage, Panthera — a global wild cat conservation organization — has partnered with area communities and world-class designers to instead distribute synthetic furs for ceremonial garb.

This approach is ground-breaking and shows potential to be replicated in other areas of the world. In fact, new data shows that these initiatives have tripled the leopard population in the region. 

Pictured: Two wild leopards are spotted in southern Africa. Photo courtesy of Panthera.

It started in 2013 when Panthera began its Furs For Life program when it was discovered that members of the Shembe Church were using as many as 15,000 leopard furs during religious gatherings. 

Working with the Shembe community, Panthera created high-quality (and affordable!) synthetic leopard fur capes — amambatha — known as Heritage Furs. Since then, more than 18,500 capes have been distributed. 

In 2019, Panthera extended these efforts with the Saving Spots initiative. The program was created in conjunction with the Barotse Royal Establishment of the Lozi people with the mission to preserve rich cultural traditions and declining wild cat populations.

Every year, hundreds of Lozi community members wear lipatelo, elaborate full-length skirts made of leopard and other animal furs, as well as mishukwe, lion-mane trimmed berets, as they gather for the Kuomboka Festival...

Pictured: Paddlers on the Nalikwanda Royal Barge wearing Heritage Furs.

Since implementing the Saving Spots program, the Barotse Royal Establishment has switched to over 1,350 synthetic fur lipatelo and 600 synthetic fur mishukwe. At a recent Lozi gathering, nearly 70% of participants wore garments of synthetic furs. 

The idea was to maintain the sacred relationship the Lozi people have with these animals. By using a high-accuracy design, these synthetic furs have become trusted regalia to pass through future generations — all without causing harm to the animals they revere.

“It is important to conserve nature. If you don’t take care of nature, then you are headed for doom,” Lubinda Nyaywa, the chairperson of the Mwandi Council District said. “It’s a learning process for our young generations, teaching them that they must preserve, one, their culture, and, two, their natural resources.”

With the support of both the Lozi and Shembe leaders, affordable synthetic furs are gaining increased acceptance and popularity as alternatives to authentic furs. Some groups have even banned the use of authentic wild cat skins at future gatherings.

This, in turn, majorly contributes to the protection and stabilization of wild cat populations in the region.

As mentioned, new data suggests that Saving Spots has helped triple leopard densities in the southern region of Kafue National Park. 

The Anthropological Masterlist is HERE.

North Africa is an African region that spans the northern part of the continent. North Africa shares many cultural and linguistic similarities with the Middle East.

BERBER ─ “The Berber, or Amazigh, people are an African people. They are native to North Africa.” ─ Berber Encyclopedia (in French) ─ Amazigh Culture (in French) ─ Berber Dictionary (in French)

GUANCHE ─ “The Guanche people are an African people. They are native to the Canary Islands.” ─ Guanche Information ─ Guanche History

KUSHITE ─ “The Kingdom of Kush was a Northeast African civilization that lived from 1070 B.C.E. to 550 C.E. They lived in modern-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt.” ─ Kushite Information ─ Kerma History ─ Meroitic Language

KABYLE ─ “The Kabyle people are an African people. They are native to northern Algeria.” ─ Kabyle History (in French)

East Africa is an African region that spans the eastern part of the continent. East Africa shares many cultural and linguistic similarities with the Middle East. 

BAGANDA ─ “The Baganda, or Ganda, people are an African people. They are native to Buganda in Uganda.” ─ Baganda Culture

BANYARWANDA ─ “The Banyarwanda, or Kingdom of Rwanda, were an African people that lived from the 15th century C.E. to the 20th century C.E. They lived in modern-day Rwanda.” ─ Rwanda in the 20th Century ─ Genocide in Rwanda

DINKA ─ “The Dinka people are an African people. They are native to South Sudan.” ─ Dinka Culture ─ Dinka Language ─ Dinka Language Grammar

ETHIOPIAN ─ “The Ethiopian people are an African people that share the Ethiopian culture. They are native to Ethiopia.” ─ Ethiopian History ─ Afar Language ─ Ethiopian Music

KIPSIGIS ─ “The Kipsigis, or Kipsigiis, people are an African people. They are native to Kenya.” ─ Kipsigis Recordings

LOZI ─ “The Lozi, or Barotse, people are an African people. They are native to Barotseland in western Zambia.” ─ Barotseland Information ─ Lozi Language

LUGBARA ─ “The Lugbara people are an African people. They are native to the West Nile region in Uganda.” ─ Lugbara Culture ─ Sacrifice in Lugbara Culture

MAASAI ─ “The Maasai people are an African people. They are native to Kenya and northern Tanzania.” ─ Maasai Information ─ Maasai Culture ─ Maasai Language

MAKUA ─ “The Makua, or Makhuwa, people are an African people. They are native to northern Mozambique.” ─ Makua Culture

SHONA ─ “The Shona people are an African people. They are native to Zimbabwe.” ─ Shona History ─ Shona Dictionary

SWAHILI ─ “The Swahili, or Waswahili, people are an African people. They are native to the Swahili coast.” ─ Swahili Information ─ Swahili Culture ─ Swahili Dictionaries

Faces of Africa: Nyaminyami, the River God

Barotse

Proposed state: Kingdom of Barotseland

Region: Western Province, Zambia; parts of Angola, Botswana, and Zimbabwe

Ethnic group: Lozi/Barotse

Goal: independence

Date: 2012-present

Political parties: Barotse Freedom Movement (BFM), Linyungandambo, Movement for the Restoration of Barotseland

Militant organizations: Barotse National Freedom Alliance (BNFA)

Current status: de iure independence

History

1890 - the Kingdom of Barotseland signs the first trade concession with the British South Africa Company

1899 - the United Kingdom declares a protectorate over Barotseland

1964 - Barotseland Agreement

1991 - the Barotseland Agreement is declared to be abrogated

2012 - declaration of independence

The Kingdom of Barotseland is thought to have been founded by Queen Mbuywamwambwa over 500 years ago. It was then conquered by the Kololo people from Lesotho.

After diamonds were discovered in the territory, the Barotse started trading with Europe and then signed a trade agreement with a British company. In 1899, the United Kingdom proclaimed a protectorate over Barotseland.

The Barotseland Agreement 1964 established the position of Barotseland within the newly independent Zambia and granted significant autonomy to the former kingdom. However, that same year, the Zambian government introduced legislation that abrogated most of the powers given to Barotseland by the agreement.

For that reason, the Lozi people have repeatedly expressed their wish to secede, arguing that the central government starves Barotseland of development.

In 1991, the matter was taken to the Zambian High Court, which declared that the Barotseland Agreement had been violated by the Zambian government and was therefore null and void. This means that the status of Barotseland had been reverted to that before the independence of Zambia, i.e., a protectorate under the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, the latter does not want to get involved and the matter remains unresolved.

Lozi people

The Lozi people or Barotse consists of more than 46 ethnic groups that inhabit Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. They speak Lozi, a Bantu language of the Atlantic-Congo family.

There are around 3.6 million Lozi. Their society is highly stratified, with a monarch at the top, but they are not separated into clans.

Vocabulary

Barotse - people of the plain

Litunga - keeper of the earth; king

Murotse - person

Naha ya Zambia - Republic of Zambia