ABSTRACT
In North-Western Zambia, children create their own ceremonies in the periphery of the adult definition of what is socially appropriate or acceptable. The children of Chitofu village, North-Western Province, Zambia, organized a play mukanda, complete with camp and makishi. Children's rituals do not often officially exist and so these improvised performances occur "under the guise" of play. Chokwe, Lunda, Luvale, and related peoples of northwestern Zambia perform both men's and women's initiations in which a liminal period between childhood and adulthood is deliberately and dramatically created through this ritual process. While no masquerades appear, women do take the same roles as makishi in men's initiations, entertaining the community and protecting the initiate. To an uninitiated child—boy or girl—a likishi represents a "spirit from the grave," something to be feared. Both traditional and innovative ways of doing things were tried out as the children explored their gender roles, work relationships, and leadership roles.
