FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

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ciation and 'celebration ofthe powers oflife which Chiuta has given these organs' (Van BreugeI2001:152). A rigorous attempt is therefore made among the Chewa people to honour and appease the mizimu by carrying out their demands and remaining faithful to the ancestral cus toms such as the proper burial and initiation rites. Most of the taboos that surround the life cycle rituals have to do with sexual abstinence. The belief is that there is some mys tical power associated with sexual fluids, menstrual blood, and sometimes with salt (DeGabriele 1999 and Van BreugeI2002). Therefore, while initiation rites (chinamwali), for boys and girls, are the means by which one becomes an adult member of Chewa society, chinamwali for girls, who are 'sacred vessels oflife,' is also the means by which fertility for the girls is established for replenishing the race. The presence of nyau is not just to inculcate right behaviour, but to intercede with Chiuta for continued fertility in the village. The driving force behind all this is the Chewa belief in the mizimu ya makolo as the guardians of the ancestral customs which must be passed on from generation to generation through initiation rites, thus giving the initiates identity and a sense ofhistory. The Chewa people are thus moulded by the above cultural heritage. Its nature echoes Harold Turner's (1977) six-feature analysis 16 ofthe primal worldview, where there is no dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual. Turner's six features are: (1) 'a profound sense that man is akin to nature;' (2) 'the deep sense that man is finite, weak and sinful and stands in need of a power not his own;' (3) 'the conviction that man is not alone in the universe but is surrounded by a transcendent spiritual world in which a hierarchy of both benevolent and malevolent spirits are found;' (4) 'the belief that people can enter into relationship with this benevolent spirit world and so share in its powers and blessings;' (5) 'the beliefthat man's relationship with the spirit world is not only for this life but goes beyond death such that the "living dead" remain united in affection and in mutual obligations with the "living living;" (6) and, 'the conviction that the "physical" acts as the vehicle for "spiritual" power, and that there is no sharp dichotomy between the physical and the spiritual.' 23
2.6 CONCLUSION The Chewa people of Central Malawi, and of Lilongwe in particular, have a rich cul tural heritage. The socio-religious institution of chinamwali gives the Chewa people their identity and a sense ofhistory. It is to such a people that the Southern Baptist mis sionaries from America brought the Christian message in the mid twentieth century. The next chapter studies the emergence ofthe Baptist churches in Malawi. 24
Page 1: FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO: THE
Page 4 and 5: MWACHIDULE Chimangiriro ichi chikuf
Page 6 and 7: TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION n ABS
Page 8 and 9: MAPS........................•...
Page 10 and 11: 1. INTRODUCTION Ntchembere yanzeru,
Page 12 and 13: My motivation, therefore, in the st
Page 14 and 15: In her work, Women, Presbyterianism
Page 16 and 17: This study covers female initiation
Page 18 and 19: vation and interviewing. The method
Page 20 and 21: church leaders, both men and women,
Page 22 and 23: Scriptures in order to understand w
Page 24 and 25: 2. THE 'RELIGIOUS ITINERARY'? OF TH
Page 26 and 27: name of a person or his title to de
Page 28 and 29: lineage, and the whole community. F
Page 30 and 31: cross boundaries), and ziwanda ('ev
Page 34 and 35: 3. THE EMERGENCE OF THE SOUTHERN BA
Page 36 and 37: (2001:12) points out, three things
Page 38 and 39: tongues. Hilary Mijoga (1998:31) no
Page 40 and 41: 2002). The two groups continued sep
Page 42 and 43: instrumental in supporting the idea
Page 44 and 45: On the mission field not all missio
Page 46 and 47: Autonomy is a term which expresses
Page 48 and 49: that our likulu is in heaven, and t
Page 50 and 51: Chewa is that menstrual blood is sa
Page 52 and 53: girls are 'captured' and put in the
Page 54 and 55: nity of both the living and the anc
Page 56 and 57: evil intentions at the initiation c
Page 58 and 59: Makanja or namkhwanya are masked da
Page 60 and 61: The first day's activities end with
Page 62 and 63: Then at the end ofthe song all the
Page 64 and 65: In the evening the initiates perfon
Page 66 and 67: While singing the same song above,
Page 68 and 69: the other being 'cutting' one's thr
Page 70 and 71: ishing them, especially if any of t
Page 72 and 73: stand and makes her jump over the s
Page 74 and 75: has her menses. Ulemu is also manif
Page 76 and 77: Teaching on the observance of taboo
Page 78 and 79: importance of the ritual. The prese
Page 80 and 81: When they are buried in the ground,
Page 82 and 83:
5. CHILANGIZO: A CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
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Merely to condemn their rites and g
Page 86 and 87:
Adopting the Christian faith, as Wa
Page 88 and 89:
She mentioned that she did not know
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espectively (with pennission) ofbot
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port the teaching. The instruction
Page 94 and 95:
6.2 CHILANGIZO CEREMONY AT CHIMENYA
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elderly people to mill their maize,
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women repeated most of what had bee
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There are dos and donts!' The whole
Page 102 and 103:
Traditional beliefs. Things do chan
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such as phada (girls' game ofjumpin
Page 106 and 107:
All the three ceremonies show that
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Generally, rituals Help people reme
Page 110 and 111:
Human life is seen as a unity betwe
Page 112 and 113:
The three case studies ofzilangizo
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With regard to the teaching content
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The booklet does not give instructi
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nences too great a strain as well a
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7. CONCLUSION: TOWARDS A CHRISTIAN
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The Scriptures say a great deal abo
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it is the mother who is normally ac
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about the fact that 'chikondi chang
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married couples as well, it would a
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social' (Oduyoye 1992:9). Through d
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seclusion until the chinamwali cere
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Please note that singing, dancing,
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The meaning is that this is the cou
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9. Ndinu mudanlenga inetu eee! Muda
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Onse azibvina akugwira thupi lawo n
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tion and gift-giving time. While al
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7.5 CONCLUSION The aim of this litu
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Chapter two 7. See Howell, A (2001)
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also be either a Christian or a non
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51. Chingondo must have a very sign
Page 153 and 154:
Chapter six 67. Although the pastor
Page 155 and 156:
SOURCES CONSULTED 1. Primary source
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--- 1995. Christianity in Africa: T
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The National Atlas ofMalawi, 1983.
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DeGabriele, J 1999. When pills don'
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GLOSSARY OF CHEWA WORDS· Abambo Ab
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Mkuzi M1andu Mmeto Mnjeza Mpalo str
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PLATE 3 Chingondo - On the Head of
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PLATES Chilangizo at Mphindo Baptis
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chiefs house so that we could light
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going round the village they would
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all join in ululating and take the
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girls, covered all round with cloth
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9. Mkanda de, mkanda wa mkamwa Ndat
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I left for the ground when a messag
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The girls danced for a while and th
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, Many infonnants called mkangali t
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Meaning: This is the time to be cou
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would punish her in different ways,
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Akakwatana. When in marriage. A dra
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58. Ndamvera kwathu, yaya Mwana wan
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The Chingondo (Headcrown) Ritual We
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frightening them, or punishing them
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dancing team. After dancing for a w
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They are however, reminded that aft
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APPENDIX D (Translated with permiss
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for a while from norrnallife and pu
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Gwiritsani ntchito ndime zalembedwa
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Ndi udindo wa alangizi kukonza maph
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Machembere ayenera kumawafupa atsik
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Anthu onse nkuseka. Ndipo anamkungw
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Amayiwo ayenera kusonyeza ntchito y
Page 221:
Adzichitira ulemu nyumba ya Mulungu
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