FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

has her menses. Ulemu is also manifested in the way the initiate relates to all the others
in the community.
The following are some songs containing instruction on ulemu to the parents:
Mwanawe, usamantukane pamtumbo! Mpa atate wako kukada, mwananga (My child,
do not curse me mentioning my private parts! They belong to your father at night, my
child); or Inu amayi mwantengera nsalu yanga! Mumpakire chigodole chotere! (You
my mother, you have taken my piece of cloth! You have stained it with menstruating
blood!) A girl is not supposed to talk rudely to her parents, even if they have wronged
her. Another example is: Usakalawirire komako, Ukapeza chiri changanga, nakwatana
(Do not go early to your mother's house, you will find it there, having sex). It is taboo
to find one's parents having sex.
Another area which requires respect is concerning how a woman handles her menstrua­
tion. This is stressed in songs such as, Ndaiwala ine, muntoleleko, kumadzi, mwere (I
have forgotten, please pick for me, at the well, the menses linen). Or, Ndipo adabvala
chimwere chake tonje, chosatsuka (But she wore her menses linen, unwashed).
Closely related to ulemu are good manners (khalidwe labwino). It has been mentioned
that the presence ofnyau at the initiation ceremonies is to change behaviour from bad to
good, or from good to better. Bad behaviour is likened to 'childhood' behaviour; it is
therefore severely punished so that the initiates enter adulthood life as good members of
society. Good behaviour includes pure sexual behaviour until marriage, as mentioned in
the following song, Elelele, elelele, kaya, Chimbolo chikupeza, Kumeneko, kaya
(Elelele, may be, The penis will find you, there). However, if a girl was given a (jisi,
hyena) man to purify her at the end of her first menses, the teaching is paradoxical as
she is only tested for pregnancy and not for sexual purity.
A girl who is generally of good behaviour participates in community activities such as
funeral ceremonies and in zizangala (celebration) ceremonies such as initiation rites.
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