Bemba Imbusa as African Indigenous Knowledge Framework for Life-Giving Marriage

Factors that influence married/partnered women’s decisions to use contraception in Zambia

“…Furthermore, living unofficially married to a man is associated with having a higher likelihood of using contraception. In the cultural context of Zambia, the expectations of married women likely lead them to choose to let their partner be the sole decision maker as they perceive greater benefit from this arrangement (21).…”

Beads of agency: Bemba women’s imbusa and indigenous marital communication

“…It is within imbusa that sexual agency for marital sex is taught, and therefore, the author will constantly draw on imbusa teachings because this is the space where the teaching on beads as agency is taught. There is empirical research on imbusa as a premarital rite of passage by various scholars; for further reading see Richards (1956Richards ( , 1982Richards ( and reprinted in 2021; Rasing (1995Rasing ( , 2001Rasing ( , 2004Rasing ( , 2021; Haynes (2012Haynes ( , 2015; Kaunda (2013Kaunda ( , 2016Kaunda ( , 2021 and Mukuka (2018), just to mention a few. Anthropologists and missionaries pioneered the work on initiation rites in Africa and other regions.…”

“…And because imbusa is a philosophy of Bemba life and worldview, symbolism is important. All churches teach imbusa to young brides in Zambia; the Pentecostals have taken out certain teachings they claim to be demonic, ungodly, outdated and pagan; and the beads are part of the teachings that have been removed from imbusa in churches (Kaunda 2016). Bemba women held three important community positions in precolonial times: cibinda wa ng'anda http://www.hts.org.za Open Access…”

The forms of colonial Christianity and Zambian cultures in contemporary Zambia.

“…There is a plethora of studies that have examined and interrogated cultural practices among the Bemba. The study will not delve in depth but will make references to what has been said elsewhere, such as Richards (1982), Kaunda (2013), Kangwa (2017) and Siwila (2011), Saguti (2016), Mukuka (2018 and Upendo (2022) unpublished thesis among others and their studies include such as initiation ceremony (Ichisungu and Imbusa) and child marriages and the ritual of sexual cleansing. It is important to reference these cultural practices to help understand the cultural identity of the Bemba and how some of these practices were made silent or changed by LMS.…”

“…It is important to note that ichisungu is/was the initiation ritual that girls at puberty went through to prepare them for marriage, while imbusa was the teaching that took place. The imbusa tradition is also called ukuombela ng'anda (ritual performance for a viable home), which follows after ukucindila ichisungu (dancing for the wonder of initial menstruation) recognised by Bemba, known as women's rituals (Kaunda, 2013). Mukuka (2018) reveals that imbusa is a symbolic activity taught through action, language, and images to explain and affect Bemba's worldview and precisely what it means to be an adult and a married woman in the community.…”