Zambian Independence
Independence Day morning we drove into town for the day’s festivities. We arrived at a large opening with hundreds of people crowding around the perimeter. Inside the opening was a small shaded tent for the District Commissioner and his counselors to watch the events in a cooler area. I was in the second group to arrive and was shocked when instead of finding a place to watch along the perimeter with everyone else, half of our group was already sitting on a bench in the middle of the open area in front of everyone. We walked over to them and waited because another bench was being brought over for us. I was stunned when instead of being seated around the outside of the perimeter or even on a bench in the sunny opening; our group was placed in the shady tent right behind where the District Commissioner was to be sitting! When he arrived we all stood and listened to the national anthem like we had done the night before. After the anthem the DC came and sat almost directly in front of us with his body guard right behind him. I felt honored to be there.
The traditional dances started immediately. Most all of the schools in Choma had something prepared. The dance we saw the most was the “social” dance. This is a dance where the boys and girls come together in a very provocative way and pair by pair perform an African grind. It was entertaining to watch because of its traditional history, but sitting there watching extremely young children grind can be sad and disturbing. You can’t help but wonder if these traditional dances have a big part in increasing the prevalence of AIDS in Africa.
There were many more dances, songs, poems, and an Independence Day skit. After it was over we came home for a feast of turkey, baked potatoes, vegetables, potato salad, and a delicious chocolate cake! Happy Zambian Independence Day!
