Jere Ngonis celebrate culture, heritage
Jere Ngonis on Saturday took pride in their culture and heritage when they hosted their annual cultural festival Umthetho Ngoni Cultural Festival at Hora Mountain in Mzimba.
The event was attended by high level personalities, including President Lazarus Chakwera, Vice-President Saulos Chilima and The Jesus Nation Church founder Prophet Shepherd Bushiri, among others.
Speaking during the event, Paramount Chief M’mbelwa V said the young Ngoni generation must be interested to learn and promote their cultural values which include dances and language.
“I call upon politicians, especially members of Parliament to consider ingoma dancing competitions besides football trophies in their constituencies as one way of preserving and promoting Ngoni culture,” he said.
M’mbelwa said he was also concerned with the high numbers of young people flocking to South Africa for greener pastures.
“Some of these youths come back dead while the country continues to lose youthful future leaders due to human trafficking,” he said.
M’mbelwa said Mzimba District is vast with fertile soils which the youth can take advantage of.
“We need to go into agri-business and do value addition to our farm produce, thereby addressing the issue of your migration to other countries,” said the traditional leader.
In his address, President Lazarus Chakwera said it was critical to come together and celebrate culture through the festival, saying such events go a long way in promoting unity among people of different tribes and cultures.
“Whether Ngoni, Sena, Yao, Chewa or Lhomwe cultural festivals, they are all important as they benefit all Malawians; hence, we must pass on our cultural values to future generations,” he said.
The President then encouraged the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture and all cultural heritage associations to promote and extend these cultural celebrations to other countries as one way of generating foreign exchange.
During the event, patrons danced, exchanged notes on culture and appreciated the Jere Ngonis traditions and cultures.
Umthetho Ngoni Cultural Festival is an annual festival for the Ngonis of Mzimba.
