FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

All the three ceremonies show that at the grassroots level people are using both the pre­
scribed booklet and oral instruction to communicate to the girls about the required
behaviour and conduct in accordance with their new status ofadulthood.
6.5 A SUMMARY OF THE TEACHING CONTENT AND MEANING
From the above ceremonies, it is obvious that much emphasis is put on instructing the
girl to show ulemu (respect) to her parents, especially the father, to elderly people, espe­
cially the chief, and to God's house. The respect should be manifested in the way the
girl takes care ofher menstruation. During her menses, the girl should not use the same
bathing facilities with the parents; she is not to come close to men; nor attend church. In
addition, no one should see the blood or the menses linen, and she should dress
decently.
The instruction also emphasizes good manners (khalidwe labwino). This includes good
morals. The girl is taught on the sanctity of the body. She must therefore keep herself
pure without sex until marriage, for that pleases both God and her parents. Since she is
now an adult, she should stop playing with children (those who have not yet matured).
Good conduct includes keeping the body and her clothes clean. When she is menstruat­
ing she must bath often and change the menses linen often to avoid bad odour. She must
also be hard working and not be lazy. The girl is now an adult, and people must see her
changed behaviour towards the elderly, in the home, in the community, and in the
church.
In the oral instruction much emphasis was put on the need for the girls to marry in
church and not elsewhere, and not to become pregnant before marriage. The main rea­
son for such emphasis is that it brings reproach upon the instructresses from the parents
as well as from society, and this makes chilangizo lose its credibility especially from the
traditionalists' point of view. Except at Mtendere church, the rural instruction did not
mention anything concerning the contraction ofRN/AIDS or any venereal diseases as a
result ofpromiscuous behaviour.
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