The people of Barotseland in Western Zambia domicile on the Barotse flood plain, practice transhumance. This is a yearly movement of people, their livestock and all from the flooded plains to the edges of the plain. The whole process of movement (event) starts with the people moving their king (the Litunga) to the high ground... This part of the movement is what is known as the Kuomboka ceremony. It is a prestigious cultural ceremony in Zambia celebrated with a lot of splendor and pomp.

The Kuomboka means “get out of the water to a dry ground” is probably one of the last great Southern African Ceremonies, and celebrates the move of the Litunga (the Lozi king) from his summer palace at Lealui to his winter palace on higher ground at Limulunga. It usually takes place in late March or early April, and sometimes ties with Easter.

Central to the ceremony is the royal barge, the Nalikwanda, which carries the Litunga. This is a huge wooden canoe painted with black and white stripes. It is considered a great honour to be one of the hundred or so paddlers on the Nalikwanda, and each paddler wears a head-dress of a scarlet beret with a piece of lion’s mane, and knee-length skirt of animal skins.

Drums also play a leading role in the ceremony. The most important are the three royal war drums, kanaona, munanga and mundili, each more than 1m wide and said to be at least 170 years old.

The journey from Lealui to Limulunga takes about six hours, the drums playing continuously. The litunga begins the day in traditional dress, but during the journey changes into the full uniform of a British admiral, complete with all regalia and ostrich-plumed hat. The uniform was presented to the litunga in 1902 by the British King Edward VII, in recognition of treaties signed between the Lozi and Queen Victoria.

Each year, the Kuomboka Ceremony brings many visitors from various parts of Zambia and International visitors from most parts of the world. This, indeed give us admiration to the people of Barotseland in their effort to preserve their cultural heritage.

At Bantu Journeys, we can tailor-made your safari to include the Kuomboka Ceremony and others activities that this beautiful part of Western Zambia has to offer.

Please contact us on 1300 665 100 or email us on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information about this unprecedented event.