FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

Adopting the Christian faith, as Walls (1996:8) argues, did not erase the women's iden­
tity as Africans; as African Christians they still carried their past with them. They did
not start their new life 'in a vacuum,' or 'on a clean slate.' What they are actually asking
is 'What about our past?' In other words, having been formed by their own 'culture and
history,' their Christian mind continues to be influenced by their past, and the nature of
the Gospel message also 'disturbed the core elements of their cultural beliefs' (Howell
2001 :228) causing them to reflect upon their past and present status. Puberty is a crucial
transition rite for the continuation of the community through the woman's bearing chil­
dren, and to fulfill this need, chinamwali is the traditional mechanism for incorporating
the girls into the Chewa community as well as maintaining their childbearing role. Since
the 'old mechanism' has been condemned as 'pagan' or unchristian by the missionaries,
the women are now searching for what Walls (1996:91) calls 'a key to conduct' or a
'new rule oflife to act as an alternative' in their new faith.
The first response from the missionary women was: 'It is the responsibility of every
mother to teach her own children about facts of life' (Int. Amayi Phiri 13/7/01). The
early missionaries confirmed that that was how they trained their children, 'a father
talks with his son, while the mother talks with her daughter' (Int. Amayi Wester, Amayi
Kingsley, 14/10/2001). Still another missionary also testified that 'when my daughter
matured, I talked with her, and later I gave her a book that contained all that she needed
to know about marriage, children, and so on. My mother was the one who also gave me
the book' (Int. Amayi Scott). Realising how important their concern was, the Malawian
women insisted that 'according to our culture, it is not the mother, but someone else
who is supposed to advise the girl' (Int. Amayi Phiri, 13/7/01). The women's statement
reflects their social and cultural situation with the emphasis on community as discussed
in chapter 2.4. That is why it is not the mother who instructs the girl. Similarly, the mis­
sionaries' statements reflect the individualism of western society as well as the empha­
sis on reading things from books. Without understanding the significance of the
women's concern for their children, especially girls, the missionaries, unintentionally,
were tempted to impose what we may call their 'cultural-Christian' model on the young
church. For a culture based on reading and writing, the temptation tends to be that all
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