Wikipedia:WikiAfrica/Incubator/Stubs/Dance in Malawi

Dance in Malawi comprises the varied styles of dances in the country. As with other aspects of Malawian culture, different forms of dances originated in different parts of the country, developed according to the local traditions and also imbibed elements from other parts of the country.

Music and dancing is an important part of Malawian culture. Like in other parts in Africa, the people of Malawi have several musical instruments for different dances. These dances are perfumed at different occasions such as weddings, funerals, initiations, entertainments etc. In Malawi there are over eighty (80) traditional dances but described below are a third of the dances.

Chilimika
Chilimika (meaning year) is performed mostly by the young Tonga women of Nkhata-Bay District in the Northern Region. At each New Year's Day, young men and women congregate at the village arena to entertain the village with Chilimika. It is actually a very humorous dance. This dance hails the New Year and is performed at the beginning of each New Year. The dance is an imitation of Malipenga, which is mostly performed by men.

Gule wa Mkulu
Also known as 'the Great Dance', Gule Wamkulu is performed at the request of the village headman on the occasion of funerals of village members, puberty initiations, and the installation of chief, and is part of the legacy of royal ritual inherited from the Chewa past. As such, Gule Wamkulu legitimates chieftainship by linking it to the old Chewa polities and by reproducing the symbolic elements of an older cultural order. Gule Wamkulu is today an essential feature of the Chewa people countryside. More than a dance forum, it is a men's organization and ritual system that is woven into the fabric of the community. As a men's organization, Gule Wamkulu manifests itself in two senses: - It is an ancestral dance performed by spirits and animals collectively called Zilombo (masked dancers) to perform at the chief's invitation in his village in a less restricted sense. Gule Wamkulu is the widest community of male initiates. Ideally every Chewa boy is required to undergo initiation and thereafter considers himself a member of the Gule Wamkulu society. As a functional tradition, Gule Wamkulu provides the basic ritual needs of both men and women, both officiating at funerals, at puberty initiations and at the installation of chiefs. As a ritual system it consolidates a community around local chiefs and impresses on the community the conceptual categories that make its internal composition coherent.

Likhuba
Likhuba is a dance performed to cure psychological illness by women. It is largely an acrobatic demonstration of male prowess by the Sena of Lower Shire in the Southern Region. These days, the dance is performed for entertainment.

Tchopa/Soopa
Tchopa is a dance originally performed by the Lomwe during tribal wars as well as during sacrificial ceremonies when a calamity has struck. During tribal wars men used to dance informing the folks that they were back with news of victory. Tchopa is popular in Thyolo, Mulanje and Chiradzulu districts. It is now mostly performed for entertainment.

Uyeni
Uyeni is a Ngoni dance usually for girls who dance bare foot with their breasts exposed. It is mostly performed during the installation of chiefs. During the installation ceremony of Inkosi ya Makosi Kanjedza Gomani IV, Uyeni played a significant role and was part of the procession that accompanied the King to the Bwalo, the coronation ground.

Mwinoghe
In the Chisukwa dialect, the word Mwinoghe literally means 'Let us enjoy ourselves thoroughly'. Mwinoghe is an instrumental dance that is popular among people especially school children in Chitipa District of the Northern Region of Malawi. It has been derived from a ceremonial dance of Karonga District called Indingala which was originally performed by men brandishing fly-whisks during either the enthrallment of a chief or feast over a dead marauding lion.

Mwinoghe is a relatively recent dance, having been modified from Indingala between 1953 and 1955. In its original form, Mwinoghe was performed during inter-school competition of traditional dances and as a form of entertainment for distinguished visitors to schools. These days it is also danced on days of international significance like the annual Independence Anniversary celebrations.

Mwinoghe has been developed to its present form and made popular since the attainment of independence. The main percussion instruments used in the dance are one big drum called Ing'ina and two smaller ones called Twana, but sometimes a whistle is used. The dancers line up in two straight lines, boys on one side and an equal number of girls on the other, facing one another. While the girls continue dancing in a standing position with their hands raised up, the boys squat down wringing and twisting their bodies, all to the rhythm of the instruments. Mwinoghe is therefore a celebration dance.

The girls wear a piece of cloth tied around the waist and reaching down the ankles with a blouse on top, preferably orange or yellow in colour. The boys wear short sleeved shirts and short trousers on top of which they also wear a piece of cloth tied around their waists. They dance bare foot.

Manganje
Manganje is an initiation dance performed by the Yao of Machinga, Mangochi, Zomba and Blantyre Districts. It is performed at the initiation of boys.

When boys (initiates) leave for and come out of the (Jando) enclosure, Manganje dance is performed to celebrate the occasion. Today Manganje is also performed for entertainment.

Malipenga
Malipenga is a modern dance for men. It is believed that it was started by ex-servicemen who developed it from the military parades of the old Kings African Rifles.

Malipenga started in Nkhata Bay District and spread all over the Northern Region of Malawi. In the Central Region, Mganda, which is a variant of Malipenga is performed in Kasungu, Nkhota kota, Salima, Ntchisi, Dowa and Lilongwe Districts.

A Malipenga group is known as a'Boma'. Each 'Boma' has its own administrative structure. The success of the Boma is the pride of the whole village. The dance is performed for the entertainment on various occasions.