LEWANIKA (c. i86o )

This article appears in Volume V16, Page 520 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

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LEWANIKA (c. i86o ) , paramount

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

of the Barotse and subject tribes occupying the greater part of the upper Zambezi basin, was the twenty-second of a long line of rulers, whose founder invaded the Barotse valley about the beginning of the 17th century, and according to tradition was the son of a woman named Buya Mamboa by a god. The graves of successive ruling chiefs are to this day respected and objects of

pilgrimage

PILGRIMAGE (Fr. pelerinage, Lat. peregrinatio)

for purposes of ancestor

worship

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

. Lewanika was born on the upper Kabompo in troublous times, where his fatherLetia, a son of a former rulerlived in

exile

EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap,
consul
- CONSUL
- CONSUL (in Gr. generally ihraros,ashortened form of errpavgybs 8hraeos, i.e. praetor maximus)
, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

during the interregnum of a foreign dynasty (Makololo), which remained in possession from about 1830 to 1865, when the Makololo were practically exterminated in a night by a well-organized revolt. Once more masters of their own country, the Barotse invited Sepopa, an uncle of Lewanika, to rule over them. Eleven years of brutality and licence resulted in the tyrant's expulsion and subsequent assassination, his place being taken by Ngwana-Wina, a nephew. Within a year abuse of power brought about this

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

's downfall (1877), and he was succeeded by Lobosi, who assumed the name of Lewanika in 1885. The early years of his reign were also stained by many acts of blood, -u1>lil in 1884 the torture and murder of his own brother led to open rebellion, and it was only through extreme presence of mind that the chief escaped with his life into

exile

EXILE (Lat. exsilium or exilium, from exsul or exul, which is derived from ex, out of, and the root sal, to go, seen in salire, to leap,
consul
- CONSUL
- CONSUL (in Gr. generally ihraros,ashortened form of errpavgybs 8hraeos, i.e. praetor maximus)
, &c.; the connexion with solum, soil, country is now generally considered wrong)

. His

cousin

, Akufuna or Tatela, was then proclaimed chief. It was during his brief reign that Francois Coillard, the eminent missionary, arrived at Lialui, the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

. The following year Lewanika, having collected his partisans, deposed the usurper and re-established his power. Ruthless revenge not unmixed with treachery characterized his return to power, but gradually the strong
personality of the high-minded Francois Coillard so far influenced him for good that from about 1887 onward he ruled tolerantly and showed a consistent desire to better the condition of his people. In 1890 Lewanika, who two years previously had proposed to place himself under the protection of Great Britain, concluded a treaty with the British South Africa Company, acknowledging its supremacy and conceding to it certain

mineral

MINERAL

rights. In 1897 Mr R. T. Coryndon took up his position at Lialui as British agent, and the country to the east of 25 E. was thrown open to settlers, that to the west being reserved to the Barotse chief. In 1905 the king of Italy's award in the Barotse boundary dispute with Portugal deprived Lewanika of half of his dominions, much of which had been ruled by his ancestors for many generations. In 1902 Lewanika attended the coronation of Edward VII. as a guest of the nation. His recognized

heir

HEIR (Lat. heres, from a root meaning to grasp, seen in heres or erus, master of a
house
- HOUSE
- HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)
, Gr. xeip, hand, Sans. hat ana, hand)

was his eldest son Letia.
See BA ROT SE, and the works there cited, especially On the Threshold of Central Africa (London, 1897), by Francois Coillard.
(A. ST. H. G.)

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