Chilubi is a settlement on an island in

Lake Bangweulu Lake Bangweulu ('where the water sky meets the sky') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in northern Zambia. Bangweulu is one of the world's great Wetland, wetland systems, comprising Lake Bangweulu, the Bangweulu Wetlands and the Bangweulu flats or ...

and its swamps, and is headquarters of Chilubi District in the Northern Province of

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Chilubi Island

Chilubi Island lies just north of the centre of the eastern side of the lake. It has an unusual zig-zag shape of about five segments, each about 12 km long and 1.5 to 3 km wide. It resembles a Chinese dragon with its head (at the north-west end) just in the open lake and its body and tail (south-east end) in the swamps. The shortest distance on land from nose to tail is 25 km, and it has about 100 km of shoreline.Google Earth
Shoreline measured at 1 km centres. The smaller Nsumbu Island lies 1 km south-east of Chilubi Island
Satellite image:
The shores of Chilubi Island are lined with villages while the interior consists of patches of wooded grassland. The soil is largely sandy and not so fertile, and the only food that grows well in it is cassava, which is the staple of the people on the island. The main settlements on Chilubi Island are Muchinshi, Bukotelo (headquarters of the chief of Chief Chiwanangala, Yombwe, Kashitu, Kapampa, Muule, and Santa Maria, a Catholic mission. The island is served by passenger ferries from

Samfya Samfya is a town located in the Zambian province of Luapula. It is the centre of Samfya District. The town is located on the south-western shore of Lake Bangweulu, on the longest stretch of well-defined shore of that lake (the northern, easter ...

and Nsombo in

Luwingu District Luwingu District is a district of Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Ce ...

and Chaba at the north end of the lake, and there is an airstrip at the mission, which in the past has mostly served the flying doctors' service. The main occupation of the island is fishing and subsistence farming, with some employment provided by schools, a health centre, the District Council and the mission.

Chilubi town

The town or large village is situated at the most north-westerly tip of the island. Chilubi is 45 km across the lake from Samfya, 28 km from Chaba and 38 km from Nsombo. Chilubi is unique in Zambia, being the only one of the 116 district headquarters or bomas on an island, with no road connections.

History

During the colonial era, the island was visited regularly but infrequently by the local Government representative, who would hold discussions with the local chiefs and sub-chiefs, to learn of their problems and to explain Government Policies, as well as to take a census, and collect taxes. Their reports were similar in style & content to those in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

. A boma was first established at the southern tip of the island,''Map of Bangweulu Swamps'' (1952)
NRZAM.org website: Directorate of Colonial Surveys: Accessed 24 April 2007. but it was burned down in March 1959 during "The Chilubi Incident".

References

{{coord, 11, 09, S, 29, 55, E, region:ZM_type:city, display=title Lake Bangweulu Populated places in Northern Province, Zambia Islands of Zambia

Chilubi Island

Chilubi town

History

See also

References