Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HANDICRAFT
Carving Workshop
You can watch the talented artists go to work on blocks of wood, carving them into ex-
quisite sculptures. The workshop also operates as a training centre where the experienced
carvers train new recruits. It also runs sporadic courses on Malawian history and culture,
and there are frequent performances of dances and songs from the Chewa, Ngoni and Yao
cultures.
Kungoni Art Gallery
(admission MK1500)
The Kungoni Art Gallery showcases woodcarvings and other art-
work, such as painting and embroidery. Proceeds from the sale of these go to help the loc-
al community.
GALLERY
GULE WAMKULU
Performed at funerals, major celebrations and male initiation ceremonies, Gule Wamkulu or 'Great Dance' is the
most popular dance among the Chewa. It can't be performed by just anyone; only members of a secret society,
sometimes called the Nyau brotherhood, are allowed to participate. Dancers perform clad in magnificent costumes
and brightly painted masks made from cloth, animal skins, wood and straw. Each dancer represents a particular
character (there are more than 150 Gule Wamkulu characters) - a wild animal, perhaps, or an ancestral spirit,
sometimes even a modern object such as a car or a plane. Each character has its own meaning - for example lions
represent strength and power and often appear at the funeral of a chief.
Supported by an entourage of drummers and singers, the dancers achieve a state through which they can sum-
mon up the spirits of animals or dead relatives. As the drumbeats quicken, they perform dances and movement
with incredible energy and precision. Some of this is pure entertainment, some of it is a means of passing on mes-
sages from ancestral spirits, and some of it aims to scare the audience - as a moral lesson or a warning. Through
acting out mischievous deeds, the Gule Wamkulu characters are showing the audience, as representatives of the
spirit world, how not to behave.
There are both individual and group performances and they take place during the day and at night - when the
audience watches from afar. The dance is widespread in central and southern Malawi and is also performed in
Zambia's Eastern Province and the Tete province of Mozambique.
Sleeping & Eating
HOSTEL
Namalikhate Hostel $$
