“Our Forefathers Weren’t Stupid!”

As we made our way through Zambia’s Central Province, my colleague Richard extolled the virtues of a Bemba tribal farming technique in use for centuries, the Chitemene system. Around October, villagers gather brush and cut trees to a height of about three feet. They surround the perimeter of this rectangular plot and set it ablaze, sentinels poised with their leafy tree branches in hand to deny the tongues of fire ingress to their village. The villagers plant millet and ground nuts (peanuts) in the powdery ash now fortified with carbon and nitrogen. For two years these crops will thrive and the stumps regenerate and bear fruit.

Richard mentioned that a rival tribe employing a different agricultural method used to ridicule the Chitemene system. He defiantly replied, “Our forefathers weren’t stupid!” That exclamation seared my consciousness: “Our forefathers weren’t stupid!”

Being immersed in a foreign society triggers an involuntary reflex to make sense of the plethora of cultural gaps. Strangeness smacks me in the face at every turn. I find myself incessantly musing, “Why do they do this that way?” In a culture I just don’t understand (and still won’t even after being here a year), it seems prudent, though it’s not always easy, to resist the temptation to suggest some alternative way of doing things. As opportunities present themselves I respectfully inquire about Zambian ways. Nevertheless, it’s a huge blessing to have a great bunch of ex-pat friends with whom to hash out these experiences.

Occasionally I can sort out the rationale for Zambian ways. For example, local minivan-sized buses here do not operate on a schedule. They depart when they’re full (and don’t idle while they’re waiting). This is fantastic when I arrive to occupy the last seat. It’s somewhat less exhilarating when I’m the first to arrive for the next bus! Wouldn’t you agree that considering that one gallon of fuel here ranges from nearly $8 to $12, this system makes perfect sense? There are good reasons other “tribes” do things “their way.” That’s not to say we can’t help each other develop new and different, and yes, even better ways of doing things.
I’m discovering that Zambians can teach us a great deal about things that really matter – like the importance of relationships, community, and faith, and freedom from enslavement to the clock. Richard ended his lesson by proudly informing me that the rival tribe ended up adopting the Chitemene system! No Richard, of course your forefathers weren’t stupid.