armband, mpande [tonga], ndolo [tonga]

"From the general consensus, the object above is generally called Mpande, the name derived from the
principal material the sea shell that is locally called Mpande. This particular form of Mpande which is
determined by the shape is called Ndolo in Siabaswi, Sinazongwe district and Mbanyina in Madyongo of
Zimba district (There are also basket patterns influenced by this shape that are also called Mbanyina).
The object was not locally made. It was worn as a necklace as a symbol of prestige. Beads were added to
add beauty to the necklace. The object is no longer in use, but some chiefs and some older people have
as family inheritance." (WHMZ 2021:13)

"Materials used to make the object: Fiber, sea shells locally called Mpande and shaped in this
form which is called Ndolo , decorated with big colored beads called Man’gon’go and small beads called
simbilu. The Mpande shell as the principle material was a symbol of prestige and the Man’gon’go and
Simbilu added beauty to the necklace." (Siabaswi village, WHMZ 2021:12)

The above information is based on workshops carried out in October 2020 in four villages in three districts in the Gwembe Valley of Zambia's Southern Province. The workshops were led by cultural historian and curator Victoria Chitungu Phiri representing the Women's History Museum Zambia (WHMZ) and Choma Museum, supported by a team from Choma Museum, Zambia. The workshops were part of the collaborative project Empowering women's histories: Sharing Digital Heritage between Zambia and Sweden (2020-2022) and involved 48 participants of different ages from the villages of Chisumba/Munyumbwe (Gwembe District), Siabaswi/Chief Mweemba, Siansalama (Sinazongwe District), and Madyongo (Zimba District).

(Note: the remark that the object is made of shell is due to limited information available to the Zambian workshop participants, who based their evaluation on a drawing. However, this may indicate that these types of objects were commonly made from sea shell, like the two disc-shaped ornaments in the same collection: one is made of shell (1912.06.0560) and the other of bone (1912.06.0561). Michael Barrett 2023-04-19)