Sexual maturity among Lhomwe girls
Among the Lhomwe’s and other tribes in Malawi a rite of passage is marked by an initiation ceremony. Girld who went through the ceremony are deemed mature and real citizens of the Lhomwe community. According to Traditional Authority (T/A) Nkhulambe of Phalombe, those yet to go for an initiation are mocked. They are called toddlers, blind and citizens who live without a mouth (Wodyera kunkhongo). Our Reporter ALBERT SHARRA explores details of the ceremony.
Girls who have not been initiated are deemed immature for marriage. The whole concept that wraps the sense of success when in marriage is what is exposed on the final day when the girls are unveiled to the community.
Usually, initiation ceremonies among the Lhomwe are held at a specific place in the bush, near a river. They are disconnected from the community for the entire period of training. This is usually two to three weeks. What happens at the place stays there. If a person dies, the organisers and the person who supports the girl during the whole service, Kholozolo in traditional terms does not communicate the incident to the parents. She continues to collect food from the candidate’s home until the final day. Parents, guardians and community members live in dilemma till the last day of the ceremony.
The unveiling ceremony is done in grandiose style. Usually, organisers unveil the girls one by one.
They come out standing on a door surface raised in the air. Four ladies carry the door by the corners and walk with it towards the open ground where parents, guardians and community members assemble to witness the return of the girls.
What is exceptional is the way the girls dance on the raised platform. They are dressed half naked—a piece of cloth covering the breasts. Another piece covers the waist and fraction of the thighs from the hip joint. They gyrate and entice the men with an aim of showing they are ready for marriage.
This has a meaning, said T/A Nkhulambe who, has been part of the ceremony for decades.
“The dancing is not ordinary. It means the girl has successfully undergone initiation ceremony and that she is ready to go for marriage. She is fit for it. Girls’ initiation ceremony prepares girls for both marriage and how to behave in a community. The dancing has styles needed for success when in marriage and we judge their performance when dancing on this day,” she said.
Nkhulambe said if the girl fails to dance impressively, the woman that was responsible for the girl’s teaching—Kholozolo is forced to go on the platform and dance for her candidate.
She added that the girls are introduced to several dancing styles while in the bush and they are taught how to take care of a husband in bed and how to live peacefully and responsibly with others as expected in the Lhomwe tribe.
T/A Nkhulambe emphasised that girls who pass through initiation ceremony are successful in marriage.
She was, however, quick to add that the ceremony is being discouraged nowadays because of HIV and Aids.
“This ceremony has been common in all the districts where there are Lhomwe people, but now it is not common,” she said.
The tradition has been taking place in Phalombe, Mulanje, Thyolo and Chiradzulu and other districts with many Lhomwe people.
