FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

Makanja or namkhwanya are masked dancers representing 'a spirit who comes to pun­
ish people' (Van BreugeI2001:162). He looks threatening and 'superhuman because he
walks on stilts' CVan Breugel 2001: 162). His body is covered with sacks and rags and
he puts on a coloured mask.
The preparation ofthese masks and structures is done at the dambwe which is situated at
the graveyard. Only the initiated are allowed to go as everything that goes on at the
dambwe is supposed to be kept secret. As the nyau are also believed to be in a 'mar­
ginal' state when performing, they need magical protection from evil people or witches.
The nyau themselves attempt to bewitch each other because of envy and jealousy.
Therefore, planting deterrents at the dambwe, liunde, and bwalo is also for the protec­
tion ofthe nyau community against any spiritual powers as Mwale indicates:
When Gule wamkulu was popularised and the headmen claimed ownership of the
institution, magic began to be used to (kutsilika) plant deterrants around the dambwe,
the liunde and also around the bwalo to keep away enemies and evil spirits which ...
would interfere with the smooth running oftheir performance.
(Mwale 1977:153)
Having made all the preparations, the major daily events of the five-day ceremony are
discussed below. The events are given according to the beer brewing calendar. This is
the traditional counting system the people use in order to know what events take place
on which day ofthe ceremony. A full documentation ofthe ceremony is in Appendix A.
Included in the documentary are additional songs and sayings collected through mock
ceremonies and oral interviews.
4.4 THE CEREMONY
The first day is called tsiku lofulula mowa (the beer brewing day). The main events on
this day are the fortification rituals that usually take place during the morning hours, as
discussed above. Then the fire making ritual takes place in the afternoon so that the
women can commence cooking beer. Since beer drinking signifies an important element
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