The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
CLAD in colourful African print material, head wraps, bracelets and necklaces, elderly women seductively dance to a rare drum beat ululating and clapping their hands in rhythm.
“…Gule Wamkulu wakwa Jomba,” they sing as Nyau masquerades also join in to dance to the beats of the pulsating drums.
These women belong to a Chinamwali group, an important part of the Chewa religion.
Wherever they are, it is not unusual to see Nyau masquerades.
The Sunday Mail Society sought to understand their practices and their symbiotic relationship with Gule Wamkulu.
Betty Phiri, now 61, was initiated into Chinamwali at 16.
Born to Malawi parents, tradition dictated that she had to go through Chinamwali.
Phiri shares a common background with the Nyau, whose god is referred to as “Chauta”
They believe their god has universal power and is present in their everyday lives.
But there is also something striking about their initiation.
Both Gule Wamkulu and Chinamwali initiates are not allowed to divulge information on what happens inside their respective training camps, lest they attract curses.
When the Chinamwali trainees come back from the training camp upon graduation, Nyau masquerades usher them back into society.
During the Nyau “pempero lalikulu” or ‘great prayer’, it is also the role of the Chinamwali women to sing, clap and dance for the masquerades.
Phiri still vividly remembers spending a month in camp before she could be initiated.
During training, they were not allowed to mingle with the outside world. The shrine was only open to initiates.
“During the training, there were 28 of us and a lot of lessons were taught,” recounted Phiri.
“While in training, we were always wrapped in tradition veils as we went through some rituals like labia minora elongation, which in some areas is equivalent to genital mutilation.”
Labia minora elongation is the stretching of the labia minora through manual manipulation (pulling).
According to Phiri, this remains a critical highlight of the initiation.
Now a mother of five, Phiri’s children have all been initiated and are now married.
The Chewa and Venda cultures encourage initiated girls to marry initiated boys. They believe that one’s marriage will not last if the other partner is not initiated.
Phiri said the initiation programme is meant for girls who have reached puberty.
Some girls reach this milestone as early as 10 years while others will only start menstruating at 16.
Accordingly, the initiation age has been adjusted to the age of 18.
Traditionally, the culture focused on training girls the art of satisfying their future husbands to keep their marriages intact.
She claimed that every woman who would have undergone the initiation will never divorce.
“Anyone who goes through initiation does not go through divorce as they are taught all aspects that make up a solid woman.
“They are taught how to cook, how to maintain a household, personal grooming, how to respect their in-laws, how to take care for a man and above all, how to satisfy a man,” she revealed.
However, Phiri revealed that Chinamwali is spiritual.
Tracing its roots to Malawi and Zambia, Chinamwali initiation is conducted annually. There is usually an ushering programme for initiates during the August holidays.
Phiri revealed that Chinamwali initiation can also be conducted in households.
“Initiation can only be conducted in households if the initiator is widowed and no longer sexually active,” revealed Phiri.
Her Highfield home is now an initiation base since the death of her husband in 2015.
Other training camps are found in farms and mining areas were most migrants are located.
While most modern women say they do not subscribe to this culture, Chinamwali seems to be diversifying into many spheres.
In Christianity, women’s fellowships seek to mould a religious woman who has all the requisite skills to take care of her family’s needs.
ln casual circles, kitchen parties seem to be doing the same.
An elderly woman from a local church said, “Elongation of labia minora is not new, we also do it in church. In other religions they use herbs but for us, we simply use water and petroleum jelly to elongate at any age, although we prefer having it done as the young girls mature into womanhood.”
In these circles, it is believed that elongated labia minora provides sexual pleasures when one eventually gets married.
However, health experts have raised red flags over the issue, citing risks of infections.
While experts have been partnering the churches, those not initiated are not allowed into the shrines. Therefore on many occasions, the medical personnel have been denied access to the girls.
“They take us (mentors) through enlightenment classes, give us safe equipment and the gloves to use. They are not allowed inside,” Phiri revealed.
Human rights lawyer, Mr Clever Mandizvidza, said under Section 53 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, practices such as labia minora elongation are a violation of human rights.
The Section reads: “No person may be subjected to physical, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
