(African Sun Media, 2020) Masaiti Mukuka, Bridget N.
This chapter seeks to investigate the rituals around the wives of Bashi Cingo by using a feminist
narrative. The chapter examines the experiences of the wives of Bashi Cingo in relation to
their cultural beliefs that forbid them to cultivate the land. I explore the rituals’ links with the
wives and the environment and, of course, their spiritual connection with the Sweetheart of
Nimbi Church in Zambia. I will employ Mercy Amba Oduyoye’s (1995) and Elisabeth Schüssler
Fiorenza’s (2011) feminist methods of inquiry to guide this chapter. I found that some wives of
Bashi Cingo have fairly low levels of support from the Sweetheart of Nimbi Church and from
the community. Also, it took some months to bury the founder of the Sweetheart of Nimbi
Church, because he came from the lineage of the Bemba chief, Chitimukulu, in the Northern
Province of Zambia. This demonstrates the influence of Bemba2 culture and biblical scriptures
in formulating some church policies that reinforce the rituals. It also uses a measure of feminist
narratives that may be of much benefit to some feminists as well as many African women.