Chief Nyamwana, the white traditional ruler of the Lunda speaking people of Mwinilunga District in North Western Province has implored Lunda speaking people to not forget where they come from and to invest in their villages.
He expressed sadness at the current loss of culture and tradition.He said some people who have grown up in towns/cities do not visit their relatives in the village and some do not even know their origins.Chief Nyamwana said if the clan is lost,the individual is also lost.He appealed to people to visit their villages,respect their headmen and chiefs and acquire land in their villages for their future settlement.
He said it was naive to think they can live in town forever where they have to buy everything.He said the cost of living in the village was fair and people are able to grow their own food to eat.
Chief Nyamwana advised against teenage marriages.He said children were a gift from God and should be well looked after and educated.He said some children may end up being future presidents of the country.He said it was sad that some of the orphans in the village were not visited by their relatives and some of the children claimed that they had been sold off by their relatives. Chief Nyamwana extended his greetings to all Lundas,including those in the diaspora.
Who is Chief Nyamwana ?
He was born Peter Fisher in Zambia from the Israeli parents. He was adopted by Chief Nyamwana after the death of his parents who lived in Mwinilunga. He was declared the heir to his thrown as he did not have a son to succeed him.
Peter speaks less English; instead, he speaks Lunda fluently and refuses to be called “Chindeli” which means a white person in Lunda. He was sworn in as chief Nyamwana in 2015 as per his predecessor’s wish.
He is a brother to Stanley Fischer who holds dual citizenship in Israel and served as governor of the Bank of Israel, chief economist at the World Bank and Vice Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors in the USA.
Fisher has been a chief for almost four years now after a ceremony which was attended by almost all the Lunda chiefs of Ikelengi and Mwinilunga districts.
His children, Peter and Andy, are fluent in Lunda too.
Next month, Fisher (Chief Nyamwana ) will be celebrating four years since his ascendancy to the throne.
His bestowment was witnessed by Senior Chief Kanongesha who presides over the two districts which are rich in pineapples.
Although his role is purely ceremonial, Fisher defied all odds when he was picked to become a co-Chief Nyamwana.
To many local people though, this was not a surprise because the Fisher family which came to Zambia – then called Northern Rhodesia –is a household name in Ikelengi and Mwinilunga districts.
Source: [Zambian Observer, Facebook]
This is a lie. Peter Fisher was never adopted and he is not the brother of the former Israeli governor. Peter came to the thrown through succession from his father, Mwata kazembe honored the fishers with a royal little for their contribution to the development of the Lunda people. I know this to be true because i have met and ate with Peter and his father
Zambians be serious with our land.
It’s only in zambia where a foreigner can come in and rule the natives. At one time we had a Congolese president
He’s legit. Thus man is way more Zambian than most people especially those selling our country. He serves the interests if the Kunda people.
You ascend to chieftainship by blood not adoption, so if the last chief had no children, the throne could have passed to his brother, sister, or their children. Remember, this is a cultural institution just that of Britain.
The man should be President of Z and then PF can all be put in jail,, I will vote for him
He qualifies to be a chief, but not a Zambian President.
Bill-10 I fvcked up big time.
Comment on his messsage not on his ethnicity. The same people going round fighting for rights and screeming black lives matter. At least the chap has a very valid message and cares about his village. Don’t expect miracles because of his colour but we can work with him to put his others similar to him at ease to stop our people from being exploited. He has chosen his home and as long as he’s behaving himself, he can be one of us.
Well, this is a novel occurrence!
Zambians are just not serious people. A starving African can be bought at a price, they’ll then tell you it’s right when it’s wrong.
I don’t object to a white chief, but it’s …..wrong, wrong, wrong.
These chiefs seem to be able to do as they like. No order. Sell our land to ‘investors,’ who cut off rights of Access, and now this..!
True about not forgetting one’s origins – it’s what makes a sound human being.
Who will be the next chief whend he dies?
How did he get blood to be chief? Doesn’t this row run in lineage. He doesn’t qualify to be chief.
If you were intelligent you would use this man to develop that chief Dom………but most hopeless would rather have drunks and illiterates as chiefs just because they are black.
By way of race , he is more capable of bringing in western development as the west sees him as one of their own …….
Be clever and support and use him to your advantage instead of bringing in nutcase mugabe nationalism. He is more Zambian than most of you , has done more for the Lundas than most of you would do in your life times
Chief Nyamwana is a better chief encouraging his subjects moral values and honesty and hard working with rural livelihood. Unfortunately, other chiefs are busy with lectures in classical politics whose objective is obita dicta and irrelevant to their subjects. Perhaps join a known political to be seen as an ordinary Zambian.
I am a princess of Mukuni village. When my father passed on the Chieftainship (reasons best known to himself), It went to the next family in line as it should be. If Queen Elizabeth had no children, the throne would have still been passed to a blood relation because it is the bloodline that carries the Chieftancy of any legacy, that is the whole point. While a chief can name his successor, his council should have fought him on that since I am sure there are plenty blood relatives that could have taken over. Only time will tell what kind of decision this was but it is certainly not something heard of here or in Europe or Asia. Bloodlines are sacred and once that is messed with, the whole line is messed up and the blessings given to the family are lost forever. I know my life would have…
been different had my father taken the position but I also have no regrets about it either and it is still ruled by our blood and when he passed away he was still recognized as a Chief would have been with a fire lit in his honor and the beating of drums non stop until they got word that he had been buried. WHen I go to our village I am recognized, loved and acknowledged and our current Chief is the best there is.
Those against this white chief are the same ones who were against guy Scott being president , only to bring a thief onto Zambians………
The Lunda’s and the predecessor to this throne obviously had some vision with the acceptance of this enthronement! This chiefdom is peaceful and obviously beloved by those belonging to it. There is a lot of wisdom in what Chief Nyamwana addresses his subjects as only concerted investment by subjects of the chiefdom would help spur development. If the subjects in this chiefdom accept the chiefs’ governance and leadership I have no business to disparage the status quo rather I should worry about happenings in own my chiefdom! Some want to be purists and claim better knowledge on traditional norms, however Chief Nyamwana by the pronouncements seems cares more! Those of us who have thrown out of the window our village ties are complicit in erosion of once rich ethnic cultures! We all for…
He can be an advisor to the chief but not become chief. This is exactly how we got ourselves played using Christianity. I like the guy but let us respect our culture.
Great evidence of how inclusive the country is under pf. While the so called civilised and developed world where diasporans are being discriminated against are facing racial revolutions like blm, here we even have chiefs who are non black. Now who is more civilised between us and them. Amen
Only in Zambia do we get things that amaze you. Kikikiki. There is a lot I can say but let me observe.
This Fisher is a relative of Guy Scott, he is not a Fischer and not a relative of Stanley Fischer as the article says. His ancestors are not Israeli (presumably by way of Germany) but British. Different spellings. Check facts.
To those commenting:
Lets judge people based on their contribution, on what they have done. Words we have plenty of these days. But these words are of the better sort.
I am hazy on Lunda rules of succession. But let me address people’s views of blood being the criteria. Chitimukulu must have some relation but there is no direct succession, he is chosen from a pool by the Bashilubemba if I remember. There is always some choice as to who becomes chief. The Bemba even had a temporary Chitimukulu who was white: Moto Moto about 100 years ago. So…