Cont. from pg 08 1. History of the Chewa people and the origin of Gule Wamkulu The Chewa People are believed to have migrated into Malawi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the 16th century. Upon their arrival, they first settled at Mankhamba near Mtakataka, Dedza District. From this point, the tribe spread out and settled in various places. In the sub-region of Southern Africa, the Chewas are also found in Mozambique, Zambia and a small proportion in Zimbabwe. These people migrated into Malawi with their culture. One of such most popular Chewa cultural traditions is Gule Wamkulu. According to the local mythology Gule Wamkulu came from Malomba, a place located in the DRC. It is not known when, but some record shows that they were already present on the territory of the present Mozambique, Malawi, and Zambia a thousand years ago. Although there is no proper documentation about Malomba, the origin of this tradition, there is, however, a record that amongst the rock paintings found in the DRC, there is a depiction of Kasiyamaliro, a type of animal Nyau structure common in Malawi but also depicted as Nyau art in one of the caves. Could this be a testimony or evidence or just a reminiscence of the original place of Chewa people and their Nyau tradition? 2. The description and meaning of Gule Wamkulu Gule Wamkulu, literally means “Big Dance” or “Great Dance”, and is probably the most popular dance of the Chewa People. Gule Wamkulu is a generic name for the performance or the secret society, while Vilombo or Gule (dance) is a generic name for all the mask characters. The society involved in Gule Wamkulu is also referred to as the Nyau. Traditionally, the term Nyau refers to all basketry masks such as the Ng’ombe (the cow), the Njobvu (the elephant) or the Chilembwe (the antelope). Therefore, the words Gule Wamkulu, Gule and Nyau denote the community and its membership, the whole system of religious beliefs and the ritual dance performances, as well as the masks used for the dances. Therefore, these terms are in this case used interchangeably as both mean the same thing. The Gule Wamkulu comprise masked dancers of different types, shapes, and forms. Possessed by the spirits of the mask, both animal spirits and the spirits of the dead, the Nyau, therefore, must not be referred to as men. The characters are regarded as ancestral spirits that come to join with the world of the living, and in the process leave instructions that will lead to successful co-existence. They are also regarded as beasts or wild animals (vilombo) that would harm anyone who does not take heed of the instructions given.
Cont. on pg 12 10
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