Page 69 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 14

Art & Culture

African masquerade costumes can supported by poles who is jokingly
seem somewhat eerie, they are nicknamed “Give me paper.” Which
sewn in secret using rags or sacks means, give me money!
or chicken feathers, animal skins or
banana leaves. This garb is hidden The Nyau brotherhood of the
in forests or at the graveyard, far Chewa people of Malawi, are the
from prying eyes, until the ceremony society entrusted with the perfor-
it is for is held. Masquerade dances mance of the Gule Wamkulu. They
in Africa are still going strong, yes do so for a wide range of ceremo-
and this is because the people from nies. Nyau is the Chichewa word
these sects uphold their traditional for Mask. In the Gule Wamkulu,
cultures and pass them on from there are different types of masks,
Abigirl Phiri one generation to another. At most each with its own rules, drumbeats
Abigirl Phiri is a Ph.D student in commerce, times these masquerade dances are and dance rhythm. Each mask has a
free-lance writer, poet, International Ambas- as a result of a religious rite that is unique color and design and spiritu-
sador of Peace, GBV activist, social entre-
preneur, talent manager and an international viewed as being of great significance al meaning. During this dance, they
marketer. More of her work can be found on by the participants. can tackle social issues that would
her Facebook Page: Words are forever. otherwise be deemed too sensitive
Recently, where l live, there were to discuss, because while they are in
people holding a masquerade cele- their costumes and masks, they are
or costume and paired that with a bration known as Gule Wamkulu, seen as spirits, not as regular people.
mask. This mask would be removed or The Great Dance, that lasted the As such, they can talk about prob-
when the hour struck midnight, like whole weekend. They were wearing lems in the society, challenges with
in the Cinderella’s fairytale story, their usual garb and had covered the leaders of the community, issues
only then would everything return their faces so that you couldn’t even with relationships, you name it.
back to normal as all would be identify the person behind the mask.
revealed. Masquerade balls in the Some even wore bizarre masks from The most important figure that is
west also merged with Halloween the store and pink tights and were represented at every dance is Kasiya
masks and balls. These date back using English names, such as Maria, Maliro, the Great Mother of Gule
to the Celtic festival of Samhain, impersonating the coming of the Wamkulu and the symbol of the
honoring the end of summer and white people and their Missus. I mother of everything. The word
beginning of winter. People wore have come to the understanding, if Kasiya Maliro originates from the
scary masks to frighten the evil one can look past their scary masks DRC. This figure is said to be the
spirits that they believed could pass you can see the fascinating story be- comforter of souls in transition
through the boundary between the hind and surrounding this tradition. and is the most significant figure.
world of the living and that of the In some communities, the men The great mother is said to be an
dead (that was said to be very thin dance energetically, whilst their ancestral spirit in the form of an
during this period) and cause harm women folk sing the songs in their antelope that was born from the
to people. They wore costumes and native tongue, while in others only white and serene waters of the
masks to trick the spirits and keep the masquerade dancers are allowed earthly depths, from which all the
them from knowing who they were. to learn the words to the songs and Chewa spirits come, the depths of
These masks were transformed into to perform the songs and dances. the world. Under its belly lies the
extravagant jewel-encrusted artis- For the festivities held near my abyss of the world, the womb of
tic designs for the balls held later, home, the acrobatic dances were the Great Ancestral Mother, and the
during the Renaissance period in accompanied by incessant drum tomb. (cycloscope.net) The Chewa
Italy, to hide the identities of the beats. The Gule Wamkulu has found society is largely matrilineal and the
upper class and allow them to take its way from Malawi to neighboring Nyau are said to provide a counter-
part in activities society generally did communities in Zimbabwe, Mozam- balance to that as well as solidarity
not permit. The mask is a device for bique, Angola and Zambia… having among the Chewa men from various
concealment, disguise, that is used originated in the Democratic Repub- villages.
to hide a person or thing. It is used lic of Congo. Interestingly, in the
to express something in ritual or in Zimbabwean perspective, there usu- The Gule Wamkulu masquerade
theatre. ally will be a tall masquerade dancer dance is performed by initiated

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