TODAY’S HOLIDAY: N’CWALA

N’cwala

In 1835, the Ngoni tribe left South Africa and moved into what is now the country of Zambia. The N’cwala festival celebrates the tribe’s satisfaction with its environs since that time, and also marks the beginning of the harvest. This is a festival of thanksgiving and people congregate in the village of Mutenguleni, including the paramount chief. Groups of dancers display their skills for the chief, who traditionally chooses one group as having outdone the others. The chief is also responsible for being the first to sample the season’s new foods and blessing it for the people. More…Discuss

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ABOLISHED MONARCHIES

In 2008, the last king of Nepal left the royal palace in Kathmandu, having been given 15 days to vacate by the Nepalese legislature. The year before, the last lifetime ruler of Samoa died, and rather than replace him, the country became a republic. Scores of countries have shed their monarchies in the past century, intentionally or not. Some have simply ceased to exist along with their rulers. What country’s Great Council of Chiefs still recognizes Elizabeth II as its Paramount Chief? More… Discuss