Lessons from Vwaza marsh

A long walk into the thick woods of Zolokere Inland Basin at Vwaza Marsh Wildlife Reserve takes a team of researchers to the burial site of ancestral chiefs, including the first Zolokere.

There is dead silence on arrival at the overgrown royal gravesite. Then quietness gives way to incantations as the current Zolokere kneels down beside one of the tombs, chanting: “Echulukutu! “Echulukutu! Echulukutu! (Hail Chulukutu)”

The diverse team is in the marshy wildlife reserve to learn from Zolokere and Lake Kazuni how the sites’ cultural importance helps keep them green amid massive deforestation and soil erosion in the surroundings.

After the ecosystem assessment, the team is expected to share the lessons from water, land and wetland ecosystems.

“Our ancestors lived here and their graves are still here. This is where the hunters used to hide and share a good kill. Back then, it took some of us 21 years to see an elephant,” says old-timer Sunday Ngwira.

Zolokere hideout is located between what used to be Nkhonjera and Saka villages.

 The locals vacated the area in September 1968 when founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda declared Vwaza a game reserve.

“Apart from the meat, we also used to enjoy fresh fish which was believed to give us unmatched wisdom. This is where we also found kasweta plants used to treat adolescent problems,” Ngwira narrates.

Agnes Kachali, from Traditional Authority Zolokere, recalls that they used get three crop harvests annually from farmlands in Vwaza.

She states: “The conservation of Vwaza started way back during the reign of Themba Zolokere, who was the first to step into the marsh and tough when it comes to protecting the environment.

“When beset by sickness, the elders would step into the marsh and speak to the spirits. Once that was done, the sick would be healed.”

However, Kachali laments worsening environmental degradation due to the sour relationship between surrounding villages and authorities who care for the protected area.

“They claim to be protecting the area, but the trees and wildlife population are much lower than they used to be when we lived here,” she says.

 The researchers’ return to indigenous and local knowledge started in 2020 following an agreement at the global conference on biodiversity.

The assessment brings together representatives of relevant government departments, non-governmental organisations and the academia to ensure that policies on ecosystems and biodiversity conservation are informed by science and indigenous knowledge.

The national assessment in Malawi targets eight districts in all three regions with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

The graves of Tumbuka chiefs are part of treasured shrines where men and women go to connect with their ancestral spirits.

“The connection with our spirits is crucial,” says Ngwira. “We keep the royal gravesite green because we go there to request for blessings in times of crop failure, disease outbreaks and other calamities.”

The Tumbuka people from the villages around Vwaza wetland participate in conserving the wildlife reserve because it embodies the royal gravesites.

The findings from the fact-finding tour will be compiled in a summary report for policymakers, key messages and a call for action.

The assessment will dig evidence on the status and trends in biodiversity loss since 1974.

The emerging evidence will inform public policy and conservation efforts.