MIJ students celebrate cultural day

Though their main aim is to learn and get trained to become journalists, Malawi Institute of Journalism (MIJ) third year students last Friday took time off their busy schedule to celebrate a cultural day with traditional dance and drama performances at Blantyre Museum ground.

The students performed the dances in line with their curriculum which incorporates cultural performances as one way of enhancing their understanding of various Malawian cultural aspects.

Though it was for academic purposes, there was entertainment for people who watched the performances. The audience grew bigger as more people from surrounding areas poured into the museum premises, lured by the beating of drums.

A MIJ lecturer Anderson Gowa said students learn about Malawi’s culture to enable them understand people in the community as they gather news as journalists.

“We wanted to showcase the practical skills of what students learn in class. As up-coming journalists, they should know the traditions of our people so as to understand them better,” he said.

Speaking to The Nation after staging a play titled The Winding Course, director of the play, Ekari Nanlaku, said the performances will help students understand the society in which they are set to make an impact through their reports and stories.

Some of the traditional dances that were performed are mganda, chisamba, vimbuza, lupanda, manganje and mbwiza. n