‘Delilah’ singer no saint

When different musicians started writing and producing their own songs for their society, the music industry used to be one of the major channels for disseminating important information.

The information was about education, life lessons, experiences and advice that helped to develop many people’s lives. In other words, the artists used to play some major roles in the lives of people and they were heavily regarded as role models to people living in the society.

By being a role model, this means that an artist used to be a person who was looked to by others as an example to be imitated. For example, everything that the artist would say, people would automatically believe and even do.

This is not the same with most Malawian local artists. For example, instead of Yamikani Chikwawe, well-known by his stage name Saint being one of the major keys to unlock some of the social problems that exist in our society through his songs so as to bring social change by providing the society with some tangible solutions to the problems, he is busy stagnating one of the social problems of objectification of females within the society. Instead of helping in fighting against the negative perceptions of females in the country by empowering them in his songs, Saint is busy helping in making sure that negative perception about females still exist in Malawi.

A saintly glow must, at times, vanish from saints. Smallest specks are seen on snow.

This is portrayed in his latest song titled Delilah where the artist negatively criticises females by objectifying them in the lyrics.

Beginning from the title of his song, Saint used a metaphoric title Delilah to relate women to a woman who betrayed Samson in the Holy Bible. This gives a negative picture in the eyes of the listeners that females are betrayers, just like Delilah.

The artist used the statements: Timano tako ukamasekelera/Timawu tako ukamandiyankhula/Timaso tako ukamandiyang’ana/Ndimafa head to mean that females use their smiles, sweet voices and eyes to seduce men.

The use of the words ‘ti’ in each and every statement just portrays how women are being belittled.

Again, the use of the statements Timiyendo tako ukamaponya sitepe/Kambina kako ukamagwedezera and Timanja tako tikamandikhudza, ndimadzifunsa, sudzandidyera chuma changa iwe? Sudzawazunza abale anga iwe? in the song shows how Saint has objectified females as sex objects, inviting and evoking sexual fantasies with intended purpose.

This, essentially, means that females use sensible parts of their bodies such as legs, hips and their sense of touch to seduce males for their own satisfaction and, eventually, betrayal.

Furthermore, the artist used some questions in his song such as ‘Aren’t you going to waste my money?’ to mean that women do get married mainly to plunder men’s income.

This can also create a vivid picture in the minds of the listeners that all women are money-lovers.

Again, the artist employed another question: ‘Aren’t you going to hurt my relatives?’ to tell his audience that women are fond of harming their in-laws, in one way or the other.

The use of the words ‘Nkundipereka kwa adani ngati Delilah’ by the artist mainly gives a meaning in the minds of his audience that women are betrayers.

In the second verse, the artist used the words ‘Ndi umphawi wanga siudzatha chifukwa cha iwe, abale ndi anzanga n’kuzadana chifukwa cha iwe’ to mean that females are the ones who help to increase poverty in a family and again, as people who ruin and end relationships among people.

The use of the questions: ‘Si iwe oyenda yenda ngati enawa? Sudzanditengera matenda n’kundithawa?’ were used by the artist to give his audience a picture that women are the ones who are fond of contracting different diseases in a family, wicked and leave their husbands after infecting them.

The use of the questions ‘Ine ndimapemphera, kodi kubwera kwako sindidzasochela ine? Mbuye adandidalitsa, kodi n’kubwera kwako sanditemberera ine?’ means that men are always blessed and females are the ones who bring bad luck in men such as loss of their jobs. This also gives a picture that men are the ones who only go to work.

The use of the statement ‘Kapena mwina n’dzayambe ndine kupita, komano n’takusiya ndi ana, kodi udzawasamala? by the artist mainly means that women do not know how to take care of children when their husbands pass away.

The artist repeated the following questions ‘Sudzandidyera chuma changa iwe?/Sudzawazunza abale anga iwe?/N’kundipereka kwa adani anga iwe? at the end of the song just to strongly convey a message to his audience that women are betrayers, cruel and fortune-seekers.

Finally, Saint employed the statement ‘Delilah sin’funa kudzalira ngati Samson’ to mean that women are the ones who bring tears in the eyes of men in a family.

As a famous song artist who is a role model to majority of Malawians, Saint was supposed to convey a positive message by choosing a suitable title and theme of the song about females having in mind that efforts to empower women economically, politically and socially are there on the ground.

Instead, Saint did not take his time to appreciate anything about women in his song and this will continue to give his audience a negative picture towards women, as a result men will be perceived with a positive eye.

Furthermore, since the song was sung by a male artist, this has truly showed that the song was written in a man’s point of view, which is negatively subjective and not objective, and the message included in the song will make men to continue looking at females with a negative picture since the song has strongly depicted that females are betrayers, greedy, uncaring, cruel, people who bring bad luck, ruins social relationships and use their bodies to seduce men so as to attract their attention.