FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

Merely to condemn their rites and give them nothing in their place, however, do more
harm than good. For this reason the "Chilangizo" or Christian Initiation Ceremony was
started here some 20 years ago.
(quoted by Ross 1996: 103)
The Church adopted the three stages of traditional rites - 'puberty, marriage and preg­
nancy', and went ahead to develop the requirements for each rite. It replaced the tradi­
tional instructresses (anamkungwi), with the Christian instructresses (alangizi). It gave
instructions on choosing the alangizi as well as on their qualities. The Christian instruc­
tresses were to work under the supervision and training ofthe women missionaries. The
missionaries added some new elements to the initiation rites, and these were taught to
the church instructresses. A training programme for the instructresses was developed. It
was compulsory for all the children ofchurch members to attend the Christian initiation
rite.
The Christianized puberty rite included the following elements in its ceremony - the
initial instruction on 'the sanctity of the body, and the respect due to it, physical impli­
cations ofpuberty, behaviour towards men and her elders' (phiri 1998: 136). This initial
instruction was followed by a public ceremony during the long school vacation when all
those who had undergone the preliminary instruction went for a period of seclusion for
further instruction and to be received into the group of initiated women. As Phiri
observed:
The public ceremony was held in the evening in a secluded 'well-lit' hall within the
village, and with all the initiates dressed in white. The programme for the evening was:
opening prayer, singing of hymns, sharing of Word of God, some instructions to the
girls, welcoming the girls into the group ofwomen by shaking hands, hymn and prayer.
(Phiri 1998:136)
The programme was organised twice or more a year. Then once a year camps were
organised outside the villages for all the initiated girls. Temporary shelters were built
and food was provided by the girls' parents (Phiri 1998:137). The program ofthe camp
included:
75