The Lozi people were originally called the Aluyi. It is thought that they arrived in the Barotse Floodplain in the 1600s. Legend has it that a Lunda princess left the Lunda empire with a few followers. (This must have been at the very beginnings of the Lunda Empire, so maybe, actually, they came from the Luba). First they settled near present-day Kabompo but then moved further south onto the plain. It is also thought that, at that time, the floodplain was more like a lake. The floodplain was an excellent environment for their subsistence farming with plenty of fish in the river and, once the floods had subsided, the ground was rich and fertile for the growing of crops and grazing for cattle. Another advantage of the Zambezi River was that it provided easy access to all the land along the rivers by boat.
The Royal family of the Aluyi were clever, maintaining that they were descended from their god, Nyambe. For all the chiefs, the mystique of the ruling clan, helped to maintain order and dependence.
The Aluyi were very successful and eventually began to conquer neighbouring tribes. Using the river, they gained access to the lands around the Zambezi River into present-day Botswana and Namibia. They reached the Victoria Falls and beyond into Tongaland, to the confluence of the Kafue and Zambezi rivers and even into present-day Zimbabwe. Many of the sorties into neighbouring regions was their desire to raid for cattle.
In 1838 the Aluyi were themselves conquered by the Kololo people from the south. At the time there was a succession dispute between the families of the leaders of the Aluyi and they were weak and divided. The Kololo were a Sotho-speaking clan that had fled from the warring tribes of Shaka Zulu. They had trekked north through Botswana, causing chaos as they passed through each tribal area. Initially, they had settled near present-day Kalomo, but then moved onto the floodplain, taking control of the Aluyi.
The Kololo Chief was Sebitwane. He was clever and respected by the people.
Under Sebitwane the empire was consolidated and extended. At about the same time as the Kololo people had moved into Barotseland, the Matabele had moved into present-day Bulawayo. The Matabele were a warrior tribe which had also fled from the Shaka terror in the south. The Matabele were not keen farmers; they were warriors who raided neighbouring tribes, taking cattle, crops and people. The land all around their headquarters in Bulawayo was devastated by their marauding impis (regiments). Their reach came to the Zambezi River and beyond.
Sebitwane, aware of the incursions into his empire by the Matabele, moved his palace from Lealui on the floodplain to Linyanti, on the present-day border of Botswana and Namibia. By basing himself there, not only was the hunting good, but he was closer to the Matabele threat and could therefore act if any impis arrived. Sebitwane also placed trusted men to monitor and control any crossing of the Zambezi River.
It was at the Linyanti palace that Sebitwane met David Livingstone in 1851. While with Sebitwane, Livingstone was made aware of the slave trade for the first time. Some of the people were wearing western clothes and, when asked how they had acquired them, had been told that they had been bartered in exchange for slaves. The Kololo had also acquired guns. The slavers had come from the west coast.
Actually neither the Kololo nor the Matabele entered into the slave trade in a big way. The chiefs of both tribes wanted their people for their own use. They did, though, occasionally sell some slaves of conquered tribes.
Not long after David Livingstone arrived at Linyanti, Sebitwane died. He was succeeded by Sebitwane’s daughter and then by his son, Sekeletu. Sekeletu was not like his father; he only promoted Kololo people to positions of authority and only married Kololo women. He became cruel and despotic after he contracted leprosy in 1860. Sekeletu was convinced that he had been bewitched and was always on the lookout for the perpetrators of the witchcraft, putting many to death. Eventually, the people rose up against Sekeletu, and the Aluyi regained control.
The Aluyi now became the Lozi and the Kololo language became their own. The Aluyi language is now only spoken by a few and is used at ceremonial occasions.
The Lozi king, when the British arrived was Lewanika. He ruled the Lozi kingdom between 1878 and 1916. He was wise and organised.
After the Kololo left the plain, the Lozi started the development of canals through the floodplain. These channels were dug to allow large boats to pass through and the soil was heaped up to form islands, excellent for crop production. Thousands of people were required to work on the canals, many of whom had been brought from the Ila and Tonga tribes to the north and east. (Part of their obligation to pay tribute in the form of goods, vassal tribes were also required to provide labour when needed). The canals and islands can still be seen today. Lewanika also started to dig a channel alongside Ngonye Falls to bypass the waterfall. This was a different challenge – Ngonye Falls is on basalt! It was never completed but the excavations can still be seen.
When the British arrived, Lewanika was the one who signed the treaty to allow the British to administer the land. Lewanika’s main concern had always been the Matabele warriors raiding in his empire and, by agreeing to sign the treaty, he knew that the Matabele threat would end. Being overlord of many of the neighbouring tribes, Lewanika was given concessions including an income from tax collected in his region. It was Lewanika who granted the land to the British to build Livingstone which was to become the capital of Northern Rhodesia.
Liuwa Plain National Park used to be the private hunting ground of the king so it was the first conservation area in present-day Zambia. The people who now live on Liuwa Plain are descendants of the original wardens of the hunting ground, put there by the king to protect it.