Intangible Cultural Heritage
Gule Wamkulu
Gule Wamkulu was a secret cult involving a ritual dance practiced among the Chewa in Malawi Zambia and Mozambique It was performed by members of the Nyau brotherhood a secret society of initiated menWithin the Chewas traditional matrilineal society where married men played a rather marginal role the Nyau offered a means to establish a counterweight and solidarity among men of various villages Nyau members still are responsible for the initiation of young men into adulthood and for the performance of the Gule Wamkulu at the end of the initiation procedure celebrating the young mens integration into adult society Gule Wamkulu is performed in the season following the July harvest but it can also be seen at weddings funerals and the installation or the death of a chief On these occasions the Nyau dancers wear costumes and masks made of wood and straw representing a great variety of characters such as wild animals spirits of the dead slave traders as well as more recent figures such as the honda or the helicopter Each of these figures plays a particular often evil character expressing a form of misbehavior teaching the audience moral and social values These figures perform dances with extraordinary energy entertaining and scaring the audience as representatives of the world of the spirits and the dead Gule Wamkulu dates back to the great Chewa Empire of the seventeenth century Despite the efforts of Christian missionaries to ban this practice it managed to survive under British colonial rule by adopting some aspects of Christianity As a consequence Chewa men tend to be members of a Christian church as well as a Nyau society However Gule Wamkulu performances are gradually losing their original function and meaning by being reduced to entertainment for tourists and for political purpose
Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi -