Mansansa

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Girls at the Mansansa camp in Ikelenge village.

Mansansa (Ukubuta in Bemba) is a Lunda practice where village girls prepare for their adulthood. It is practiced by the Lunda of North-Western Province of Zambia. The age group is between 10 to 14 years old. Parents support the girls by providing them with food, cooking and cleaning utensils and many other things they can use to have a successful event.

Preparations

Girls preparing for Mansansa

The girls team-up and set a date when they will have Mansansa and agree on how they will gather food to go and showcase their cooking skills as learnt from their parents. The girls work for their parents for about a month who, in return, give them the needed support. This process prepares and teaches them to work for what they need.

The event begins as early as 6 am. The girls pick their siblings and go with them to make a 'family'. At Mansansa, the girls depict real lifestyle and family names from their homes. They cook all the three meals of the day, and when all is done, they go back home to sleep.

Activities

At the Mansansa camp, girls emulate home behavior which include: cooking, bathing and feeding the young, cleaning the house and other surroundings, etc.

See also

References

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