Senior Chief Kasempa carried on the royal palanquin before a gathered crowd

Kasempa Chiefdom · North-Western Province · Zambia

Kasempa Royal Establishment

The traditional authority of Senior Chief Kasempa, custodian of the Bena Kyowa — the Mushroom Clan — and of the Kaonde people who have kept their fire at Kamusongolwa Hill since 1882.

Enter the Chiefdom Juba ja Nsomo →
1882Chiefdom established
1898Battle of Kamusongolwa
KyowaThe Mushroom Clan
6 JuneJuba ja Nsomo

Who we are

The custodians of the Kasempa Chieftaincy and its dynasty

The Kasempa Royal Establishment is the institution through which Senior Chief Kasempa governs the traditional affairs of the Kaonde people of the Kasempa Chiefdom. It is the seat of customary law, the keeper of the royal lineage, and the voice of the chiefdom in its dealings with government, industry and the wider nation.

About the Establishment

Explore

The chiefdom, in six chapters

The ThroneSenior Chief KasempaThe living link between the Kaonde of today and the ancestors who made the journey from Katanga.Read on →Our storyHistoryThe Kaonde trace their descent from the Sanga chiefdom of southern Katanga. Their journey ends, and their capital begins, on a hill in the middle of what is now the Kasempa Chiefdom.Read on →The sacred hillKamusongolwa HillA granite dome rising out of the miombo above Kasempa Boma — where Jipumpu built his capital, where the Kaonde turned back a kingdom, and where the chiefdom still climbs to remember.Read on →1911 — 1912 · ShakutenukaShakutenukaThe story of Tumiwa, who answered for the Kaonde men who went to the mines and did not come home.Read on →The ceremonial yearCeremoniesThe moments when the Kaonde renew their covenant with the land, the ancestors and one another.Read on →KaimbweKaimbwe SaltOut on the dambo the ground turns white. The women of Kasempa have worked the Kaimbwe salt pan for as long as the Kaonde have been in this country.Read on →

From the Royal Secretariat

News & announcements

Notices of the Royal Establishment, the ceremonial season, and matters concerning the chiefdom.

Announcement

Official website of the Kasempa Royal Establishment goes live

The Establishment publishes its first official website, carrying the history of the chiefdom, the ceremonial calendar and the record of Kamusongolwa.

All notices

Visit

Come to Kasempa

Kamusongolwa Hill, the Royal Palace, and Juba ja Nsomo on 6 June every year.

Plan a visitContact the Secretariat