Postcolonial Imbusa: Bemba Womens Agency and Indigenous Cultural Systems [Hardcover]

Imbusa, a rite of passage for marriage among the Bemba people of Zambia, is one of the most salient and resilient rituals that shapes and informs the private and public life. It is one of the most formidable cultural forces that defines behaviors and determines everyday relations between women and men at home, church, and work.Postcolonial Imbusa: Bemba Womens Agency, and Indigenous Cultural Systemsby Mutale Mulenga Kaunda offers a glimpse into the livedimbusaand how the teaching proposes womens agency and subjectivity. Mulenga Kaunda argues that the salience and resilience ofimbusa, despite the contact with various cultures and religions, makes it a critical feminist decolonial resource for constructing life-giving postcolonial womanism. Through combined interviews and philosophical analysis, this book discovers how the knowledge ofimbusawas produced and how such knowledge constitutes postcolonial and decolonial nego-feminism.Mutale Mulenga Kaundais postdoctoral research fellow at the Desmond Tutu Center in Religion and Social Justice at the University of Western Cape.

This important and much-needed book underscores the way in which the imbusa curriculum among the Bemba was core in preparing women for their roles in marriage. Kaunda recognizes the importance of the curriculum and notes its shortcomings in modern society. Using a post-colonial reading, Kaunda meticulously analyzes the imbusa Curriculum and with thoughtful insights, sheds light on how society moves away from reinforcing submission and unequal power dynamics within a marriage, emphasizing on partnership in marriage. This does not take away the marriage preparation of both bride and groom separately as the separate teaching maintains a female space of solidarity. Thus decolonizing the imbusa curriculum is about reclaiming indigenous African voices and knowledge. Esther Mombo, St. Paul's University

How do we decolonize and rewrite narratives of dolãŠ