Tourist Flees Rituals  Sun Worshippers invade Chisamba

Tourist Flees Rituals  Sun Worshippers invade Chisamba
By Japhet Banda and Getsemane Mwizabi
21 June 2001

A Zimbabwean young white female tourist, in Lusaka for todays solar
eclipse, yesterday fled from Chisamba camp in protest against alleged weird
spiritual activities on the site.

The Harare-based young woman, 22, who refused to be named for fear of
reprisals, told the Times how dangerously weird things including taking
drugs were being practised in Chisamba where countless foreign tourists had
camped.

So frightened for her life, she said, she had to leave the site and is due
to catch the first flight to Harare this morning.

There are some things I dont understand taking place in Chisamba including
taking drugs.  The music is weird and you find yourself swaying in
convulsions, I just felt it wasnt safe for me, she said.

She disclosed how some foreign tourists would use todays solar eclipse for
soul travel, a ritual where their spirits would leave their bodies at the
same time as when there is a total eclipse around 13:00 hours.

They believe that after their spirits have died when the moon comes
between the earth and sun, thereafter they will ascend to a higher spiritual
dimension, she said.

The reporter saw multi-couloured arm bands which the sun worshippers wore.
Apparently, they were all dressed in almost identical attire as in belly
tops, gold chains on their ankles and in rasta hair styles.

All the worhippers also looked untidy.

The area where the sun worshippers are camped was also being guarded by
their own security, relegating Zambian police to the outside.

The reporter was sneaked into the camp site by some farm hands in the
neighbourhood who had been watching the sun worshippers.

Police spokesman Lemmy Kajoba said police were not aware of the planned
rituals in Chisamba.

He would ask for a report from his men in Chisamba and warned that if there
was anything to do with drugs, police would act together with the Drug
Enforcement Commission (DEC).

And street kids from Bauleni community school took part in an eclipse
festival celebration held in Chisamba yesterday.

The children who meant to interact with other tourist from various countries
were taken to and from Chisamba by two hired South African luxury coaches.

Organiser of the Chisamba Eclipse Festival William Miller said the
interaction of different culture was to mark world peace.

We want to make children feel part of the world because we are one people
after all, Mr Miller said.

The over 120 kids were among other things taken round the festival grounds
to see the art work done tourist.

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Tourists Invade Resorts
By Times Reporter
22 June 2001

Most of the tourists who came to watch the solar eclipse are still around
visiting other resorts and only 5,025 have left.

Tourism Minister Michael Mabenga said yesterday that he expected the
visitors who were still in Zambia to visit tourism as many resorts as
possible and enjoy their stay.

Mr Mabenga said registered tour operators were actively involved in
arranging tours for visitors in Zambia.

I am happy to report that so far we have not received any complaints from
tourists, and in fact we are being commended by the public and the tourists
on the reception they received, he said.

Mr Mabenga confirmed that his officers investigated the matter in which a
woman escaped from rituals at the solipse festival.

I have been informed that they did not witness such activities while there.
I would like to appeal to the public to provide me with facts which would
confirm this report, he said.

Mr Mabenga however, observed that the eclipse event was successful and that
Zambia had great potential for tourism.

He thanked the President, Zambia National Tourism Board (ZNTB), scientists
from the University of Zambia (Unza) and various tour operators for
contributing to the success of the event.

And some unsuspecting Zambians may have been initiated into a cult at the
solipse festival whose rituals a Zimbabwean tourist fled on Wednesday.

A survey by the Times in Chisamba showed that few Zambians at the festival
had started wearing arm bands and five pronged stars on their foreheads like
the rest which a Japanese tourist said were meant to bring happiness.

A shaken Zimbabwean tourist fled Chisamba solipse festival for fear of
rituals and insisted that the arm band she got there had some hypnotic
magic.

In addition to the few Zambians that managed the cost of (K250,000) per
person there were several street children from Bauleni township who were
allowed entrance to the camp.

There was remarkable quiet day of the eclipse in sharp contrast with the
loud music that characterised the festival for the 10 days before the
eclipse.

At the advance of the eclipse all quietened apart from chants and the heavy
metal music and other such beats only resumed after the moons shadow
completely crossed the sun, meaning the end of the eclipse.

And earlier in the day, at the camp manned by combined team of Zambia police
and Safetech secuirty guards, some tourists were seen luring young locals
into their practises.

Apart from the heavy metal music, there seemed rampant occult practises at
the campsite as pointed out by the white Zimbabwean tourist.

But police spokesman Lemmy Kajoba said police had instituted its own
investigations.

He said preliminary investigations showed that there was nothing unusual
about the festival.

One of the more than 100 hands hired in Cape Town, South Africa revealed
that the festival was actually a ritual where people from all over the world
dance to some music until they fall into a trance, a state of
unconsciousness.

He said the festival was a place where to celebrate nature and appreciate
mother earth form life.  In fact the Zimbabwean tourist was initiated in
Cape Town.

A Buddhist Japanese tourist who gave his name as Monchi let two local girls
into the secrets of the society after giving five pointed stars to stick to
their foreheads.

Monchi who had a crystal ball explained that the silver stars were special
presents from India which brought peace to those who wore them.

Monchi said that the stars made the wearers look beautiful and attractive.

According to the girls, Monchi had earlier manipulated the crystal ball in
which they saw the whole globe spinning on its axis.

Monchi has since made arrangements with the two young women to visit them at
their homes soon after the festival to perform some rituals.