FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

dangerous happens, resulting in mdulo, or death. The Old Testament refers to a men­
struating woman as 'wodetsedwa' (defiled) and rules that any man who lies with her
would be unclean for seven days until he carries out the purification rites (Leviticus
15:24). Paul in Colossians 2:17 calls these rules from the old covenant 'mthunzi wa
zirinkudzazo; koma thupi ndi la Kristu.' (a shadow of the things that were to come; the
reality ... is found in Christ.' The teaching from the new covenant is that 'defilement' is
caused by sin inside man (Mark 7:21-23), and that living holy lives should be the goal
of every Christian. Prayer and fasting, in addition to constant teaching, should be
included in the liturgy ofthe church in preparation for Christian chinamwali.
Fear of evil both from the spiritual and the physical realms and the need for mystical
protection is very strong in traditional Chewa society. Chewa people are aware of the
evil that haunts them all the time either from the spirits or from evil people. We have
seen the rigorous attempt to mystically protect the initiates by planting deterrents called
mnchiri in strategic points during chinamwali. The Chewa people need to know that evil
comes from Satan, or mdierekezi (devil), or 'cinjoka cacikuru' (great dragon) who was
'hurled down, and leads the whole world astray' (Revelation 12:9). Morally, human
disobedience and error makes humans responsible for and face their own wrong doing.
They also must know the victory of Jesus Christ who conquered the dragon by the
'mwazi wa Mwanawankhosa, ndi cifukwa ca mau a umboni wao' ('blood of the Lamb,
and the word oftheir testimony') (Revelation 12:11). In addition to constant prayer and
fasting, Chewa Christians need to compose songs of triumph from the Scriptures and
sing them during chinamwali, like the one in Revelation 12:10,11 to testify and cele­
brate their own victory in Christ Jesus for his victory is the victory ofhis people as well.
Sexual purity is not taught in traditional Chewa society since the girls are introduced to
sex on their first menses. They are only required not to be pregnant at the time of their
chinamwali, whether they are married or not. The chinamwali ceremony therefore is not
just for 'sex education' but it has a deeper religious meaning - establishing fertility for
the initiates. Christian sex education could form an important part of instruction during
chilangizo ceremony. Ifthere is continued periodic instruction on good morals and what
constitutes a Christian marriage given to boys and girls until they are married, and to
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