In the far west of Zambia, near the town of Zambesi, the historic Likumbi Lya Mize ceremony of the Luvale people is perpetuated in August. It is the concluding part of the complex Mukanda initiation rite, a three-month training to adult life, of young adolescents who are also circumcised. The ceremony is accompanied by the coming out of a multitude of Makishi masks with their dances, declared Intangible World Heritage by UNESCO in 2008.
Mize is the name of the village that hosts the traditional Luvale court, not far from the town of Zambezi. The Makishi dancers and their beautiful, large masks impersonate the spirits of the ancestors who accompany each initiate in his or her training. At the beginning of the Mukanda, the young people are escorted by the masks and the women towards the river, symbolising the passage to the Hereafter, since they will die as children and resurrect after their training in a secret and isolated place, returning to the world of the living as adults, on the day of the Likumbi Lya Mize. The ceremony thus celebrates a kind of collective resurrection, in which hundreds of different Makishi masks/spirits accompany the young initiates towards the town of Zambezi and the court of Mize, shouting and making incomprehensible sounds, amidst dances and songs, colours and dazzling rhythms, welcomed by the community and festive mothers.
Day 1: Saturday 16 August 2025
Outward flight/Lusaka (LBV)
Day 2: Sunday 17 August 2025
Lusaka
Days 3-4: Monday 18 August to Tuesday 19 August 2025
Lusaka/Solwezi/Zambezi
Days 5-8: Wednesday 20 August to Saturday 23 August 2025
Zambezi (Likumbi Lya Mize Festival)
Day 9: Sunday 24 August 2025
Zambezi/Kafue National Park
Day 10: Monday 25 August 2025
Kafue National Park
Day 11: Tuesday 26 August 2025
Kafue National Park/Lusaka
Day 12: Wednesday 27 August 2025
Lusaka/Flight
Day 13: Thursday 28 August 2025
Return flight
There are no extensions for this tour, please contact us at info@kanaga-at.com.
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