The eensy weensy spider....
Ughhhh.....
Just need to share with you all a pic of the univited guest that came over last night. I was frozen solid screaming in the kitchen, while Maggie was screaming standing on the table.
Then Jim came to the rescue, probably just to make us stop screaming.
(the under side of the spider is brownish...but it is black and hairy on top!) Isn't that just gross?!?!?!?!
Happy Halloween folks!
Cheers,
;) tess
The Daily Grind....
Hey folks,
I hope everyone is doing swell! The last few weeks have been extremely busy for both of us at work, and at play, as we had 2 friends, Mark and Maggie visit for 3 weeks. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any time off when they were here, but we were able to take two long weekends and travel with them. The first weekend we climbed Malawi’s hightest peak Mt. Mulanje with a bunch of friends, and the weekend after we relaxed in Nkhata Bay, a small town on the shores of Lake Malawi. It was wonderful to have good friends around (who bring maple syrup, nutella, and chocolate haha). Unfortunately Mark had to return to work, but Maggie, a naturopathic doctor, is staying with us in Lilongwe until Dec 7th, and volunteering at Kazuzu Central Hospital, where she is assisting, and learning how crazy the health care system is in Malawi.
Anyways, there’s not too many fascinating things to talk about, especially as Jim has been buried in the depths of the computer labs at school, and I have been stuck doing office work, and have only been traveling for meetings (yawn). So the only interesting things I have to share with you are some mundane daily happenings, and a sample of the crazy daily stories about daily life that my co-workers lament about…..
• Although I regularly find cockroach droppings all over my desk and in my desk drawers every day, I was surprised to find a really big turd inside my drawer. I asked my co-workers what kind of small animal was doing it’s business in my drawers. They came over, examined it, and told me it was a cockroach egg. (which I confirmed with google images). The sissy that I am, I asked the office assistant to clean out my desk drawers for me. So as he was pulling out my files, and cleaning out the copious amounts of roach poop; he caught and killed 6 GIGANTIC ROACHES that were living in my drawers, copulating, and eating my files.
• My co-worker Jimmy came into work the other day complaining about family issues again. Apparently the previous day, his aunt, a respectable primary school teacher of 12 years was writing her Malawi School Certificate Exam (Highschool exam), in order to upgrade her teaching skills. (Obviously you don’t need to pass high school to teach primary school). As she is a bit absent minded, she forgot that she had her cell phone tucked into her skirt. Half way during the exam, the police came in and arrested her for “cheating”, although the phone was off, and nobody saw her use it, she was still arrested, and thrown into jail for a night, until the family could raise enough cash for the bail. What the heck!!!!! Who the heck goes to jail on the charge of “suspected cheating on high school exam” ??
• Jean, another colleague of mine missed a day of work to attend a funeral. When I asked her about it the next day, she told me that her husband’s younger brother was murdered in the village by her husband’s nephew, as they got into a heated argument over who had the right to plant maize in a certain plot that season. So after a heated exchange, they both ran home, got panga knives (i.e. machete’s) and settled the argument. Talk about stress me out crazy, and tragic.
• The Account at work was telling us how his sister, who was in college in Blantyre, got into an argument with a classmate, who was known to practice withcraft. That night, her whole head and face swelled up so much that you couldn’t even distinguish facial features. His parents rushed to Blantyre to pick her up. The closer they drove to home, the more the swelling would reduce. By the time they reached home, her head and face was back to normal. So the next day, they decided to drive her back to college. The closer they got to Blantyre, the more her head and face would swell up again! So finally, they were forced to withdraw her from college in Blantyre, and to this date, she is not physically able to go to Blantyre due to this “curse” that was put on her. I thought the accountant was making the story up, but he swears by it, and as a result believes in witchcraft.
Anyways, in the grand scheme of things, I guess I really can’t complain about a handful of colossal roaches taking over my office. But honestly that, and the daily stories from my colleagues is the only interesting thing going on right now, beyond work work work. I hope you are all well!
Cheers,
;) tess
P.S. – As I was writing this blog, I just got a text messge from a friend that said “SORRY CHANGE OF PLANS FOUND BLAK MAMBA IN BATHROOM. I’M OK, JUST SHOKD. SEE U 2MOROW” haha… having a fatally poisonous snake in your bathroom beats my roach complaint hands down!
(pic of Mark, Maggie and us on Mt. Mulanje)
Village Ceremonies and the Gule Wamkulu
While walking through rural villages in Malawi, it is easy to get lost in time, forgetting that it is the 21st century. Women cooking over wood fires and pounding maize in wooden vessels, men forming bricks from mud by hand, and the incessant wide eyed stares of the inevitable throng of barefoot ragtag children pointing fingers at the “muzungu” (white person). As most of the “muzungu’s” live and work in town, this scene is generally a fleeting moment as we whiz by the roadside villages in our 4x4 trucks, or the occasional stopover to check that the borehole is working, or to monitor HIV/AIDS care centers and clinics.
Yesterday, Jim and I had the rare opportunity and honor to be invited to a traditional ceremony in Kalumba village, in rural Lilongwe. As the guests of the “Group Village Headman” (aka Chief), we were able to witness traditional and “sacred” ritual dances that still form the backbone of Chewa society and culture. The ceremony taking place was the commemoration of a graveyard, and all the chiefs from the surrounding villages were in attendance. Central to the ceremony was the Gule Wamkulu. Literally translated as the “great dance”, is the oldest form of music and dance practiced by the Chewa tribes in Malawi performed by the Nyau brotherhood, which is a secret society of initiated Chewa men. The Nyau dancers wear homemade costumes and masks representing wild animals and spirits of the dead. Each of these figures plays a particular evil character representing certain forms of misbehavior in order to teach proper conduct and moral values to the audience.
To the other members of the village, the masked Nyau dancers are not considered “human” and are revered, respected, and feared by children. During the “great dance” drummers help to control the Gule Wamkulu dancers as they summon the spirits through dance and their antics. Some of the costumes were elaborate such as the elephant costume with 4 dancers inside, while others were simpler such as the dancer with a bucket over his head and animal skins tied around his loins. After each “act” the audience would go into the circle and give money to the dancers. The more talented and enjoyable acts obviously getting more cash than the others.
To us, the Gule Wamkulu dance was entertaining, comical at times, and insightful, as well as expensive as the Gule Wamkulu dancers inevitably demanded money from the white people with the cameras. (which wasn’t too bad considering the 5 kwacha bill is equivalent to 4 cents…. but it started add up when we ran out of small change, and had to start 100 kwacha dollar bills to each dancer). But despite the relentless heat, dust and stares by the hundreds of children, it was definitely a memorable and culturally fascinating afternoon.
To see the pics from the ceremony, click here.
Coming soon, (as soon as Jim has some free time) video clips of the Gule Wamkulu!
Cheers,
:) tess n jim
