The area has been inhabited the longest by people from the Lunda, Bwila and Shila tribes. The “aba-kaya” from Kasembe belong to the Tabwe tribe. As described earlier, numerous migrants of varied ethnic affiliation have come to live in the area.
The people from the Mweru area are matrilineal. This means that inheritance is passed on from a man not to his own sons and daughters but to his sister's progeny. Similarly, his maternal uncles may exercise a stronger emotional and cultural influence over him than his natural father does. Matrilocality reinforces this relationship. Thus, the matrilineage is the basic unit of social organization and the focus for distribution of wealth.
In practice, a man has obligations towards the well-being of his sister's children and he can expect support from his mother's brother (“Yama”) who has more authority over him than his own father has. Responsibilities towards “matri-kin” are fading but this process does not seem to be coupled with increasing commitments to the “patri-kin”. People seem to change from one ideology to the other and back as convenient. In a discussion with “Dorcas women” from the Seventh Day Adventists it was remarked that “Some people recite the Bible if that suits them, and stick to tradition if that suits them”.
Matrilineality also means that when someone dies, his/her brothers have a say over the properties of the deceased and can in practice, come and take away everything, claiming that it was all their brother's property and it should therefore stay in their matri-kin. A widow especially is often left with barely anything because anything she owns is perceived to the brother-in-law's. “Widows robbed” is a national issue and reaches the newspapers. Unfortunately, very little is known about the new laws which protect the widow. This “robbing” leads to a tendency to give away property while still alive to relatives of choice in order to secure support in old age.
When people are in need of support they will most likely go to relatives. Abeni that do not have relatives nearby will go to friends or to people they know and trust. In most cases these are other abeni. Although the relationship between the abeni and the aba-kaya seems to be good, there were many instances of their forming separate interest groups.
Several forms of collaborative action were noted:
Fishermen's associations
Gear owners form companies and jointly own gears.
Fishermen can also have a companion in another fishing area. In Kasembe in particular there are several companies. They share profits and help others in times of need (e.g. a funeral).
Traders give each other products to sell on their behalf or give each other credit
Fishermen that get credit from traders, teachers, better-off fishermen, etc.
The churches try to achieve cooperation in assistance to each other in times of need.
Women jointly organize charcoal burning.
Cooperation is usually the ad-hoc and functional. Group formation is difficult because of the temporary character of the residence and because of jealousy and lack of trust.
The fishing communities are characterised by a great variety in prosperity. This can be recognized from the enormous differences in housing, especially in Kafulwe, and from the differences in ownership of property. According to respondents an example of ‘prosperous gillnet fishermen’ was someone owning a vessel, at least 6 boats, more than 500 nets and hiring over 20 workers. A ‘struggling fisherman’, on the other hand, would only have 5–10 nets and depend on pooling of resources with other struggling fishermen. The ‘average’ group would have around 50–80 nets and may be own a boat. The most well off were not only involved in fishery but also in business. They buy trucks, own shops, expand crop cultivation by involving more labour. These ‘big men’ have either grown big in the village through fishing, or belong originally to the better off.
Being rich can cause a lot of conflict in fishing communities. People who manage to accumulate more wealth than the average person are suspected to have used witchcraft. Using witchcraft usually harms others and the one suspected of its use is therefore feared and not welcomed. The whole community can turn against the suspect and have in several cases managed to chase him/her away. For example, successful fishermen are suspected to have stolen other people's catch by means of ‘juju’ that transfer one's catch to the other's net. One fisherman's house was burnt and he fled to Kasembe where he kept a low profile.
Men are associated with water and women with land. According to the norm, held by both men and women, men should control their wives and daughters. Men are responsible for the safety and well-being of the family, the ‘male’ activities in agriculture and the larger expenditures like clothing, schooling, etc. They have a final say on the use of the income of family members. In public spheres (at meetings, for example) men represent the households.
In practice, women are often alone and managing the household, either because they are single or because the husbands are away fishing for long periods. They undertake all agricultural activities including land-preparation which is considered a man's job. The majority of the charcoal burners are women, though charcoal burning is considered a man's job. At the meetings and committees, however, males dominate. Women are not present and the female members of the households are absent. Female gear owners do not participate at committees where the interests of gear owners are discussed.
The gender ideology also restricts the movement of women and the options for women. For the sake of acceptability, women are expected to keep to the rules and make it very clear that they are not involved in any external relationship with men. Women are under social pressure to get married and ‘be controlled’. Mistrust among women concerning this point is very strong; “other women can steal my husband” is a statement often heard. This norm makes women traders, moving from place to place without husbands' control, negotiating with men, to be regarded as ‘loose women’ or prostitutes. It was said that the women boat and net owners secured their initial capital through prostitution. This way of thinking tends to limit the entry of women into the lucrative business of trading and remain in ‘clean and safe’ agricultural activities.
There are four traditional chiefs, of whom chief Puta rules Kasembe and chief Mununga rules Kafulwe and Kansungwa. The Lunda Mwata Kazembe is generally recognized as the ‘paramount’ chief in the region, including the Luapua valley area. In Kasembe senior chief Puta has authority over the people, especially aga-kaya. People pay tribute to him, and he prohibits the use of engines in chisense fishery in the northern part. In Kafulwe, the chief Munumga used to control the breeding areas where fishing and settlement was not permitted. The present chief has less influence on fishing, but his voice still commands respect.
The influx of abeni in the area has put the leadership to test and eroded the leader's authority. The history of Kafulwe provides a picture of the way in which the chief took action to preserve the delicate balance of authority.7
The traditional authority got eroded during colonial times when traditional leaders were integrated into the new political structure. This continued after independence when the government took the initiative to stop the fish ban, claiming that it symbolized colonial rule. In Kansunga, a “mifimbo” area, the people had settled there and a fish ban could not be imposed. In the end, the chief sent a headman to Kansungwa in order to control the area.
The chief authority is still highly respected among the aba-kaya but less among the many newcomers.
At the village level the headman is in charge of “avoiding and solving conflict” and “keeping peace and order”. The following institutions help him to exercise these functions. Women are not represented on any of these institutions.
Village committee: The village committee consists of the headman and the Prince and is responsible for formulating rules governing the village. They can give orders to build latrines, control goats and resolve conflicts within the households. They hold discussion and charge fines. Minor thefts are reported to the committee, while serious cases are reported to the police.
The local court: Divorce cases and major issues on land allocation are taken to the local court.
Youth committee/vigilantes: The youth committee is responsible for keeping peace and order. It checks strangers. It deals with conflicts between fishermen and traders about payment, theft, sexual harassment etc. It can impose sanctions. Its role has become more important in view of the increasing number of loafers.
Fishermen's association/security committee: Security organizations exist. The committee in the north is most effective. Besides, there are the government institutions: the court of Nchelenge, the police and the fisheries department.
* Department of Fisheries
The Department of Fisheries tries to control illegal fishing by confiscating outlawed fishing gear or the gear of fishermen operating in the “Mifimbo” areas or closed seasons. The increase in fishermen should be monitored and regulated through the requirement to register, but not many fishermen make the effort of going to Nchelenge to pay money and register.
It is at present imposible for the Department, considering its present means and staffing position, to monitor and enforce regulations.
To bridge the gap between the Department and the fishermen, the formation of fishermen's associations and fish conservation teams was encouraged. The fishermen's association consists of fishermen, and is received well. The fish conservation committee consists of teachers, headmen, fish scouts, several prominent fishermen, etc. and is meant to promote the need for rational use of the fish resource. The committee was not found in Kasembe. In Kafulwe it has never met since the Department initiated it last year. No follow up has occurred since it was formed.
The Department does not command the respect of people in the research areas. In Kafulwe in particular the Department was blamed for resale of illegal nets confiscated from fishermen.
* The fishermen's association
The fishermen's associations are a reaction to the increasing thefts that occur in fisheries. It seems that the associations were voluntarily established in the 1970s.
The associations' main aim is to prevent theft. All fishermen and traders automatically become members and pay a monthly subscription fee. Many traders do not pay because they move around and do not feel very committed to the association.
The association consists of sections, branches and ward associations. Regulations require that elections be held every two years, meetings twice a month. All gear sizes, types, meshes, colours, owners, etc., should be recorded, and all purchases and sales reported. Gear owners moving must receive a letter advising which property can be handed over to which fishermen's association in the area of their destination.
A security team (of volunteers) guards the gear left on the beach at night. It would be able to patrol the coast if it had a boat and engine. When the team needs to conduct a check, all fishermen must come to the shore with their property recorded in registries. The nets found on the lake are then considered stolen. Culprits are taken to the police or are taken care of by the security team. Punishments range from beatings to confiscation of nets and boats for a certain period or demands that the thief sell his equipment and stop fishing. A “black list” exists of such offences..
Fees are paid for membership and for registration of gear. The money is meant to cover the travel expenses of the leaders/security team and to assist members in cases of theft, funerals, etc. The leaders need to travel to attend meetings and the security team needs to travel with the thieves to the police. Serious cases are taken to the police by the security team (at their own expense) but co-operation and strict follow-up by the police are lacking.
Associations in the north are said to be strong and strict; they are feared. The association in Lupiya, west of Kasembe, was said to be very strong. In Kasembe, little theft occurred; most fishermen and traders were positive about the idea and the objectives of the association. Security teams did not function regularly as guards but were active only after a report of theft was made. There were many complaints about incompetent and corrupt leaders, postponement of elections, misuse of registration fees, etc. Similarly, the leaders complained about traders and fishermen not paying monthly registration fees. Access was denied to books, and according to Chipungu ward representatives, the Kasembe section was “just a skeleton”, its records are not up to date and its leaders not to be trusted. Associations in the south are said to be weak. In Kafulwe, the explanation for this was that it got registered only recently (beginning 1992) -- which means that it acquired the authority to actually discipline people only this year. Registration of the associations was held back by political leaders of the former UNIP Government because they feared political organization. The association was registered straight after elections, and the leaders are obviously MMD-oriented. Another observation was that the leaders are all
“abeni” and all men -- while the other committees are dominated by aba-kaya.
The associations are now in the process of registering gear after which the police will come to search the houses. The associations' security teams do punish people but do not guard beaches regularly. However, the associations do not seem to be taken seriously by the Department. If the Department comes to look for and confiscate illegal nets, it does not involve the association or report to it about which nets are taken so that this information can be recorded in their registry.
Exchange of information and experiences among different sections/associations already takes place at the initiative of several leaders in the north (Lupiya). The Fisheries Department could benefit from a strong association -- and its controlling and monitoring activities. For example the findings of the frame survey could be compared with the findings of the associations' registries. These registries could also be extremely useful in monitoring the movements of fishermen. At the same time the association can benefit from coordinated support of the Government (the department, the police) because after all “the Government is feared”.
