By Andrew Mulenga
Responding to last week’s article on satire and
artistic freedom, Zambian arts and culture critic Roy Kausa says freedoms of
various artistic disciplines in Zambia are compounded by several issues that
include the lack of self-esteem by local artistes in the first instance, and
secondly the lack of a serious arts education.
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| Mulemena’s tunes introduced the Kaonde Manchancha and Shonongo traditional rhythms albeit in slightly Westernized variations |
“It is a fact that in last 51 years, this country’s
arts education curriculum from primary school right up to tertiary level has
been a total disaster for lack of a better term. And as a result, nobody in this
country ever regards the arts as a serious player in the economic development
of Zambia,” he says.
Kausa, whom for over 30 years has been well known in
the visual arts circles for his caustic reviews in publications such as The Zambia Daily Mail and more recently
the Bulletin & Record Magazine argues
that Zambia’s citizens do not appreciate art because of lack of art education
during their time in school and tend to ignore the situations brought to
“light” by the artistes in music, drama and in visual arts.
“But who is really to blame? If my memory serves me
right, the advent of Christianity in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) is entirely to
blame for the non-development of a serious arts education. As a small boy
living at Mukinge Mission in Kasempa I remember how the missionaries from the London
Mission now Evangelical Church in Zambia terrorized villages during weekends, warning
them against doing evil things such as drumming and traditional dancing,” he
recalls.
He points out that to play any traditional
instruments in homes was considered a punishable taboo by these missionaries.
“I also remember how the late Emmanuel Mulemena who
was my teacher in Sub-A (Grade 1) at Kikoka Mabwe Primary School during the
late 1950’s struggled to teach us traditional music with his close friend Noah Chanda
because of strict rules from the then Northern Rhodesia government and the
church against promotion of traditional and cultural activities in our
villages,” he says.
According to Kausa, it did not take long before
Mulemena was hounded out of the school by church authorities because of his passion
for traditional folklore and music.
“I vividly remember how Mulemena would take the
whole class to Munkinge hill at weekends to help us learn songs he composed
from the various Kaonde folklore. He left Kasempa for Lusaka and because he had
gathered enough material in traditional Kaonde folklore, music and dance from
rural Kasempa, Mulemena's music quickly received attention from the Zambian
public when later he joined the Zambia Broadcasting Services,” he says.
He claims that in the 1970s Mulemena’s music took
the country airwaves by storm because it was totally different from that of
Isaac Mapiki and Alick Nkhata whose compositions mainly depicted urban life.
Mulemena’s tunes introduced the Kaonde Manchancha
and Shonongo traditional rhythms
albeit in a slightly westernized variations. Before his death in 1982, Mulemena
was one of Zambia's most popular musicians and vocalists. Among his greatest
hits are the songs Mukwenda Mukunanga, Kwi
Lamba Ekwesu, Bakaseya Nibani and Amalume.
The life of Mulemena and other Zambian music greats is well documented in the
book Zambian Music Legends by Leonard
Koloko.
“And soon other musicians such as Charles Muyamwa
and others also joined Mulemena to promote traditional tunes from the different
parts of Zambia. Time for Music on
television which came every Friday evening was very popular in the mid 60’s to
early 70’s. At that time Lusaka and the Copperbelt boasted of live music which
saw the birth of such bands like the Tinkles,
The Ataguns, The Earth Quakes, the Lusaka
Beatles to mention but a few,” he adds.
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| Kausa - the current crop of musicians lack a strong tradition of cultural education |
Kausa suggests the story today is totally different
in that the current crop of musicians lack a strong tradition of cultural
education. But also observes that this may not entirely be their fault because
there are no books in Zambia which depict the different cultural aspects of country’s
life. This is further compounded by the lack of sufficient cultural centres or
museums where young people can go and learn their past and history.
“However, the birth of the University of Zambia (UNZA)
in 1966 was not a blessing but brought misery and destruction and sent the
Zambian Arts to the grave. The lack of introducing a faculty of literature and arts
at the university then situated near the Central Hospital, now University
Teaching Hospital saw the once vibrant cultural movement in this country start to
deteriorate and soon nose-dived and completely failed up to this day,” he charges.
Kausa commends the privately owned Zambian Open
University (ZAOU) for introducing and arts faculty but insists that the arts
would have been taken more seriously if government sponsored UNZA introduced degree
courses in the various arts disciplines.
“Although the scenario is extremely depressing, it
is not too late, to turn around things, by government to investing in the arts development
at the university level. It is because of the absence of a serious art
movement, that our local artistes in Zambia behave like party cadres used by
the various political parties as objects of gaze,” he says.
He observes that while the formation of the National
Arts Council of Zambia (NAC) was with good intentions, it has overstayed and needs
a total restructuring and a new lease of life by government’s quick intervention.
“NAC has also been a great pain in the flesh of
artistic development in Zambia because it does not seem to add value to the
artistes let alone the government coffers. For how long is NAC and its various
affiliates such as Visual Arts Council and Zambia Association of Musicians going
to depend on government to spoon feed some sections of the artistes in this
country,” says Kausa who is also Lechwe Art Trust secretary and manager at Twaya
Art Gallery, Intercontinental Hotel Lusaka.
“I therefore urge the Zambian media to help
government to formulate a programme to resuscitate the “vibrant, rich
traditional and cultural manifestations through the various arts disciplines
from its grave and once in the history of Zambia start adding value to the
economic basket, by bringing foreign exchange to this country like the case with
artists in Nigeria, South Africa to name but a few who contribute heavily to
economic baskets of their countries.”
Kausa suggests there is
also a need to turn around, and develop a new concept to open a new door for
the arts to thrive and to be appreciated by the Zambian public. Stating the government,
private sector and politicians should embark on a campaign to bring back a
curriculum in this country's education to teach subjects based on Zambian traditions
and languages at university level. 
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