FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

Learning about chinamwali and its meanings and then re-interpreting chinamwali using
the Chewa Scriptures enables Chewa Christians to move from the pre-Christian chi­
namwali to Christian meaning which therefore produces a Christian chinamwali.
I hope that through this study what people will experience is a sense of transformation
and conversion as they move from the pre-Christian chinamwali to the Christian mean­
ing of chinamwali and to a Christian chinamwali. It is hoped that this study also pro­
vides a pattern and model for the ongoing religious journey of Chewa Christians as they
seek to do a critical analysis of many other aspects of Chewa and African culture and
use the Scriptures to interpret what is learned regarding the meanings ofculture.
ENDNOTES
Chapter one
1. The Presbyterian Church ofNkhoma Synod was the first to adopt chilangizo in the place ofthe tradi­
tional rite. See Phiri I, 1997. Women, Presbyterianism and Patriarchy.
2. Chilangizo does not include boys' initiation rites, whilst chinamwali includes the boys initiation.
Male alangizi are chosen in the Baptist churches, but I was informed that they instruct the young man
only on his wedding ceremony, and not before.
3. It is the motto ofthe Baptist theological training in Malawi.
4. The instructresses stressed the need for such combined meetings because that was what other
churches in their areas were doing, and it was helping to have the girls marry in church. The first thing on
the programme was to check that none of the girls was pregnant. This is similar to what happens during
the traditional ceremony.
5. Any photos from the traditional rite have been used in this paper with permission (see Plates 1,2 and 3).
6. Emphasis on the use of mother tongue language is made in this dissertation because in other African
societies the mother tongue scriptures may not be used. In addition, a situation may arise in future in the
Chewa context where young people who do not have a good command of English are tempted to use
English Scriptures rather than mother tongue, because they see English as a sign of 'modernity.' Thus
they fail to appreciate the fact that God speaks to us in Chewa, and that we also hear him better in our
own mother tongues (see Acts 2:6-8).
137