FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

Chewa is that menstrual blood is sacred and that it has mysterious powers of sustaining
human life. Proper rituals must therefore be performed and all taboos observed so that
nothing endangers her life and that of the whole community should she become sterile
(Phiri 1997:32-33), or should she suffer from mdulo (cutting).27 Whoever notices the
girl's first menses must inform the mother immediately, who in turn informs the
grandmother. The chief, as the owner ofthe mbumba 28 (people) and the one responsible
for the girls' initiation, is also informed through his anamkungwi (traditional instruc­
tresses).
The taboos to be observed during the girl's first menstruation are sexual abstinence for
the parents until the end ofher menses when the rituals described below are performed.
The chief abstains only in the case of a girl who will be initiated at mkangali, (the
chiefs initiation, as discussed below). All informants mentioned that if the parents
break the sexual taboo, the girl suffers from a disease called mdulo (cutting), or tsempho
(a transposition). The symptoms of mdulo or tsempho are kutupa masaya, kusololoka
zala, kusanza magazi, or kutuwa (swollen cheeks, elongated fingers, vomiting blood, or
rough dry skin), and eventually the girl dies if not given the necessary herbs to cure the
illness. In normal circumstances the girl is given food without salt and is instructed not
to salt any food whenever she is menstruating. 29 The grandmother's role is to take the
girl into two to three days' seclusion for instruction concerning the menses. The girl is
warned of the dangers of having sex during menstruation, and she is instructed on how
to take care of the menses so that no one sees the blood, nor the menses linen, called
mwele or mthete. She is instructed to respect her parents, the elderly people, and espe­
cially the chief. At the end ofher menses, the chief provides the necessary herbal medi­
cine, called khundabwi, for the girl to eat in food or to drink with the parents (and the
grandmother). Again the chief eats khundabwi only in the case of the special girl who
will undergo mkangali. After taking the herbal medicine, all are free to resume their
sexual activity.
Many informants mentioned that in the past, instead ofthe herbal medicine, the girl was
given a man to have sex with at night. Such a man was calledfisi (hyena), because he
came at night as a 'hyena to steal'. The warning for both the girl and the man was, as
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