The Ngoni people of Eastern Province, Zambia, trace their origins to the Zulu nation in KwaZulu-Natal. Each year, on the last Saturday of February, the Nc’wala ceremony is held at Mtenguleni Village in Chipata to commemorate the enduring Ngoni heritage.

In 1898, after a war between the Ngoni led by King Mphezeni’s son, Prince Nsingo, and British colonial forces, the Ncwala ceremony was forcibly suppressed. British colonial authorities labeled the celebration ‘war-like,’ banning the event for over 80 years and causing a deep rupture in Ngoni cultural expression.

Zambia’s independence on 24 October 1964 sparked renewed hope for King Pontino KaXilowa and the Ngoni people, inspiring a movement to reclaim a piece of their cherished tradition. After sixteen years of unwavering effort, their perseverance was rewarded in 1980 when Paramount Chief Mpezeni III triumphantly revived the Nc’wala ceremony. This revival honored the Ngoni’s victorious migration under King Zwangendaba from present-day South Africa and celebrated the first harvest of the year.