Social Science & Medicine 53 (2001) 371–382
Sexual cleansing (Kusalazya) and levirate marriage (Kunjilila
mung’anda) in the era ofAIDS: changes in perceptions and
practices in Zambia
J.R.S. Malungo*
,1
Demography Program, The Australian National University, ACT 0200, Canberra, Australia
Abstract
Since sexual cleansing (kusalazya) and the intertwined ritual oflevirate marriage or widow and widower inheritance
(kunjilila mung’anda) have come to be implicated in the transmission ofHIV/AIDS, alternative rituals to sexual
cleansing have emerged. Using both quantitative and qualitative data obtained from Zambia in the second half of 1998,
this study reveals that the alternative rituals to sexual cleansing include sliding over a half-naked person (kucuta) or over
an animal (kucuta ng’ombe or cow-jumping); use ofherbs and roots (misamu); cleansing by a married couple.
Concoctions or other rituals that were otherwise considered ‘alien’ in Southern Province, such as cutting ofhair (kugela
masusu) and application ofsome powder (kunanika busu), have also been adopted. The study, therefore, discusses
various aspects ofthese alternative practices: who performs them and how; whether the processes are connected to
polygyny (maali), levirate marriage (kunjilila mung’anda), and grabbing or inheriting property (kukona); and whether
these practices are also risk factors in the spread of HIV/AIDS. # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: HIV/AIDS; Inheritance; Levirate marriage; Polygyny; Sexual cleansing; Zambia
Introduction
There is in Zambia, as in much ofthe world, a strong
beliefin different types ofspirits that affect people’s lives
differently (Colson, 1962; Malungo, 1999). In Zambia,
these spirits are generally referred to as luwo (wind)
because they are invisible. Or one can talk ofthe cult of
mizimo (muzimo in the singular) or in a limited sense
‘honouring and remembering’ the ancestral spirits. In
Zambia, it is widely believed that when a person dies two
spirits remain, one the muzimo and the other ceelo (zyeelo
in the plural) or musangu (basangu in the plural), the
ghost. The ceelo is always a newly created spirit, some
saying that it originates in the dying breath (Colson, 1962,
p. 9). However, not all people produce a new muzimo
when they die, but there is a general agreement that only
those who have achieved a certain status during their
lifetime give rise to a new muzimo at death, while
others, including children, leave behind them only the
already existing muzimo associated with them since
naming.
Living people do not wish for the dead people’s spirits to
trouble them in any way. Hence, upon the death ofan
adult, the ritual of kulya zyina or kwaangamuzimois
enacted: the name or muzimo ofthe dead person is given to
someone still living, in order to ‘‘please’’ the deceased. In
addition, someone must have penetrative sexual inter-
course with the spouse ofthe deceased in order to chase
away the spirit ofthe dead from the living partner
(Malungo, 1999). Failing this, it is believed that the
muzimo or the ceelo or musangu (ghost) ofthe dead person
brings misfortune on the remaining partner, regardless of
sex, or any member ofthe family. The process ofhaving
penetrative sexual intercourse for ritualistic purposes is
1
An initial version ofthis paper was presented at the XI
International Conference of AIDS and STDs in Africa
(ICASA), Lusaka, Zambia held from 12 to 16 September 1999.
*Correspondence address: School ofHumanities and Social
Sciences, The University ofZambia, P.O. box 32379, Lusaka,
Zambia. Tel.: 260-1-290320.
E-mail address: rmalungo@hss.unza.zm (J.R.S. Malungo).
0277-9536/01/$ - see front matter # 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0277-9536(00)00342-7