Bwalo la a Chewa, a Chewa Organisation wants Kulamba Ceremonies to also be happening in the country for young Chewa generation to have a feel and  understanding of their chewa culture and the Ceremony. 

Bwalo la a Chewa Founder and Executive Director Reverend Flywell Somanje told Story Club FM through Kuunika za Chikhalidwe program that their is a need of the event to also be happening within the borders of Malawi.

He said; “Kulamba as a Ceremony is a thanksgiving event which us the Chewa people do to thank Mphambe (God) for the rain, harvests and life. Which means every Chewa Village can set their own date after harvesting and do the ceremony with guidance from their Chief. 

This idea has been brought up not to kill our  annual big event which happens at Katete in Zambia for Paramount Chief Kalonga Gawa Undi, but to give the less privileged Chewas who can’t travel to Zambia for the single ceremony to learn and know the values of our Culture,” he said. 

Somanje added that the Chewa people has to borrow a leaf from the Ngoni who despite being a one cultural heritage in the country each one of them have a separate annual celebration for their paramount Chief.

“Despite the ngoni been in a number of countries here at Southern Africa and here in Malawi they do have such a celebration in their groups, for example the Jere in Mzimba has umthetho and the other group in Ntcheu also have theirs. The doing does not separate them as Ngoni but gives them a chance to celebrate their culture somewhere close to them which is exciting.”

Commenting on the development Lost History Foundation Director Conleth Selenje agreed with Somanje’s sentiments saying it is interesting to see that Malawians have now realized the importance of their culture and its values.

“What a lot of people does not know is that our culture got disbanded by westerners and Arabs who brought up religion which opposed some of our cultural values, they also introduced the borders which set up boundaries between people of the same cultural heritage like the Chewas who are now in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique,” he said.

Selenje added to urge the Chewa chiefs that they should sit down and discuss the issue raised so that even the main annual Kulamba ceremony should also rotate in countries where the Chewa people are available. 

“If it is hard for Chewa chiefs in the country to do the Kulamba ceremony in their chiefdoms let  the the one happening now in Zambia rotate,” concluded Selenje.