Reconstructing the origins of the lt;emgt;Imilangult;/emgt; of Kalabo and Sikongo districts of Western Zambia

Abstract

This study is a reconstruction of the origins of the Imilangu of Kalabo and Sikongo Districts of Western Zambia. One irrefutable fact about Barotseland is that the area has been widely explored and different aspects of the area and the people therein have been documented by many scholars. However, it is surprising that in spite of the area having been extensively explored by many scholars, the history of the Imilangu occupies a very small portion in the literature of Barotseland. Moreover, the literature available does not give a clear understanding pertaining to the origins of the Imilangu. Most scholars suggest that the Imilangu were once part of the Luyi (Lozi) and that the former broke at once away from the latter. This study however takes a different root by accentuating that the Imilangu are a composition of different clans that came from different places under different leaders and at different times. Despite the fact that there could be some clans in Imilangu that could have broken away from the Luyi, the broader picture is that most of the Imilangu clans were not part of the Luyi.