FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

should highlight and endorse what the Christian faith affirms in, and point out what is
lacking in chinamwali. The Gospel should purify what requires cleansing, and/or mod­
ify elements or areas that necessitate change. The aim is to have a Christian chinamwali
that will impact non-Christian Chewa society. This, by no means, is a once for all expe­
rience. It is a process of growth as evidenced in the question ofthe Malawian women in
1970, 'Now that we are Christians, how do we instruct our girls about the facts of life?'
Since the Chewa people strongly believe that chinamwali or to be initiated is miyambo
ya makolo (ancestral customs), it is proper to examine, first of all, the cult of the
ancestors in the light ofthe biblical teaching.
The continuity ofthe Chewa community and its customs is faithfully preserved through
the performance ofchinamwali. The historical tradition of chinamwali gives the initiate
a sense of identity. A true Chewa is the one who has undergone the rite of chinamwali.
It is therefore through chinamwali that the new initiates are introduced to the spiritual
world of the ancestors and instructed in their customs. Failure to perform chinamwali
means dishonouring the ancestors and cutting off the lineage. This may bring misfor­
tune to the individual or to the community. To make sure the miyambo (customs) are
followed, the nyau, who are the physical representations of the spiritual powers of
ancestors, enhance and uphold chinamwali. Thus the nyau represent spiritual powers
that have great influence on the Chewa people, and their presence at funerals and initia­
tion rites has tremendous impact on people's beliefs. The fear of the spiritual powers
and nyau therefore, permeates Chewa life, for Christians as well as non-Christians.
Here we are faced with the issue ofthe cult of ancestors who are the spirits of the dead
humans and not any other spiritual beings. They are an integral part of the community,
'linking the living and the departed in a common life' (Bediako 2000:30-31). Their
authority and power holds the Chewa people together, and their customs sustain the
community as they are passed down from their 'fathers and mothers' to later genera­
tions. It is these mizimu (ancestors) who are the agents between the living and Chiuta
(God). They also give a sense of identity to the Chewa community. How does the
Christian tradition respond to the issue concerning Chewa ancestors who form part of
their worldview?
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