FROM CHINAMWALI TO CHILANGIZO:

The missionary wives, together with the Malawian women leaders continued to train
other women leaders (now including the alangizi). At first the training was done at the
national annual meetings only, but later it was done at the association meetings as well.
Lilongwe association grew quickly and in order to cope with the growth the leaders had
to change their strategy. In addition to the training sessions at the association meetings,
the leaders moved out to the churches and trained leaders there as well (Int. Amayi
Kumwembe, 26/6/01; Amayi Mwale, 19/7/01). In addition to the women's leadership
training, Amayi. Kingsley also regularly held youth Bible study and fellowship meetings
(Int. Amayi Mkuwa, 28/6/01; Amayi Kachipande, 21/6/01; Amayi Kingsley, 29/8/01).
This trend went on until the early 1990s when both leadership training and the youth
meetings began to decline which has continued to the present time.
According to those engaged in the production ofthe booklet, the book was meant to be
a guide for the instructresses in their work of instructing the girls in the Christian way.
Thus the purpose ofthe book was:
To provide a resource for our women and churches to provide Christian training at the
times when the people felt it important to give instruction. It was a resource rather than
a program.
(Note, Amayi Swafford, 27/2/01)
When the women expressed their desire for a Christian instruction concerning facts of
life for their girls, their underlying concern was that the Malawian Christians, like many
Africans, wanted to retain the essence of their identity. Replacing a ritual by a set of
written instructions was not just 'christianising' the rite but 'acculturalising' the people
as well, but without realising the ineffectiveness ofthe process on the lives of the girls.
This process will be discussed further in chapter six while the booklet is analysed
below.
5.5 BUKHULA ALANGIZI(THE INSTRUCTRESS' BOOKLET)
The booklet can be looked at in two sections - the introductory section and the section
containing instruction on chinamwali (puberty), courtship, marriage, first pregnancy,
and the birth of the child. Appendices C and D are the Chewa and English 66 translation
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