FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

utes they are dropped down and walk to their tsimba. In other areas they dance for about
ten minutes, are dropped from their tutors' shoulders, have their head crowns tied with a
piece oftowel, and then enter the ground again to continue dancing in front ofthe chiefs
for another ten minutes or more before leaving for the tsimba. In both cases the girls are
given monetary-gifts. The whole crown structure and all the small pieces must be dis­
posed of very carefully and so every precaution is taken to drop the head crown on a
piece of cloth where all the pieces are collected to be disposed in a pit latrine. Usually
the girl's mother is responsible for its disposal. The belief is that if the crown or any
piece from it is picked up and used by evil men, the girl may become sick, barren, or
die. 53 Hence every precaution is taken to make sure that the crown is carefully and com­
pletely discarded.
My infonnant told me of a girl whose head crown fell during the initiation ceremony
several years ago. The initiate stopped talking, and later on she could only stammer.
During my field research, we met this girl (now a woman) and my infonnant introduced
me to her saying, 'this is the one I was telling you about! Look! She cannot talk prop­
erly!' Although I did not say anything, I could hear her stammering speech as she nar­
rated her misfortune.
Many infonnants testified that the mkangali ceremony is very dangerous because girls
can become barren if the protective deterrents are not strong enough to stand against
such kind ofevil or witchcraft.
The chingondo ritual is a characteristic feature that makes the mkangali ceremony the
most distinctive of all Chewa initiation rites. It has deep religious significance for it
links the initiates to the most powerful spirits - the elephant and the cattle nyau.
To stress the mysterious nature of the ceremony the girls spend another vigil with the
zirombo, and thus have a direct encounter with the spirits, from whom the girls must
also learn the miyambo (customs), thus linking the initiates with the ancestors. All the
infonnation concerning this ceremony was given from oral sources. The zirombo, called
namkanya, spend the night with the girls, instructing them, frightening them, or pun-
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