Malawi Cultural Insight

The different tribes practise their own rituals and have their own individual social systems but traditional music and dance are deeply rooted in almost all the ethnic groups living in Malawi. They differ in the sense that each tribe has its own distinct tunes and dances. Drums are commonly used and vary from the small hand-held ulimba made from a locally grown dry gourd to the gigantic drums made from tree trunks and mostly used in tribal ceremonies. Rattlers and shakers called maseche are tied to the hands and legs of the dancers adding to the rhythmic sounds of the mambilira, an African cousin of the western xylophone. The traditional dance of the Chewa tribe is the Gule Wamkulu, danced to propitiate the spirits. Other tribes have their own dances like the Vimbuza and the Beni reflecting their own traditional religious beliefs.

Malawi produces a variety of colourful arts and crafts like woodcarvings, wood and cane furniture, soapstone carvings, decorated wooden articles, traditional musical instruments, textiles, pottery, beadwork, cane and raffia baskets, mats and bags.