NEW BUT OLD DISCOVERIES: THE INDINGALA AND THE MWINOGHE.

INDINGALA.

Indingala is a highly emotional and expressive dance perfomed by the Nyakusya and Ngonde of Karonga and Chitipa districts. It is also performed in Tanzania where the Nyakusya and Ngonde lived before immigrating to Malawi.

Indingalabis a special drum which was used for sending a message about the death of a chief,  a presence of dangerouse animals or an attack by enemy tribes in the neighbourhood. Therefore, stong men would rush to the scene armed to defend their village. If the message was about the death of a chief, a fight would break out. This used to be the case because they suspected a foul play and customs demanded that a chief must be laid accompanied by a number of his subjects.

Indingala therefore developed as a warrior dance out of this practice.

But nowadays, it is a peaceful dance in which people participate to express their emotional feelings; either to release tension or simply just to relax.

 Sometimes indingala groups compete with each other. When it is performes for entertainment, women and children are allowed to participate. The men wear a long piece of cloth aroind the waist and adorn decorations of beads. They paint their bodies with clay and use flywhisks when dancing.

 There is very litle singing in Indingala otherwise the only music is provided by three drums and circles.
The dances throw their bodies in different directions gracefully and majestically. In Indingala, it is important to keep the movements of the arms and legs co-ordinating.

MWINOGHE
In the Chidukwa dialect, the word Mwinoghe literally means "Let us enjoy ourselves thoroughly". Mwinoghe is an instrumental dance that popular among people especially school children in Chitipa district of the northern regionof Malawi. It has been derived from a ceremonial dance of Karonga district called " INDINGALA" which was originalky performed by men brandishing flywhisks during  either the enthrallment of a chief or feast over dead maruding lion.

Mwinoghe is a relatively descent dance having been modified from Indingala beteen 1953 abd 1955. In its original form, Mwinoghe was performed during inter-school competition of trditional dances as a form of entertainment for distinguished guests in schools. These days it is also danced on days of I ternational significance like the annual independence annivesarry celebrations.

 The Mwinoghe has been developed to its present form and made popular since the attainment of independence. The main percusion 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 straigh lines, boys on one side and an equal number of girls on the other. While the girls continue dancing in a standing position with their hands raised up, the boys squat down wiggling and twisting their bodies, all to the rythm of the instruments.

Mwinoghe is therefore a celebration dance.

MALAWI DANCES: THE MGANDA

Malawi is divided into three major political region. Each region is dominated by one or two tribal groups of people. For instance, the Yao and the Lomwe tribes are mainly found in the southern part of the country. The Chewa and Ngoni dominate the central region while the Tumbuka and Tonga occupy a bigger portion of the north.

However, it is interesting to note that in each of the 28 districts of the country, there are almost each of the tribal members kiving in harmony with the rest. Intermarriages further strengthens the bonds of relationship.

Each of the tribes performs their traditional dances for particular functio s or ceremonies and these traditional dances help to spice up the dailt lives of African people.
As villagers live in small communities, their daily activities are linked and do most actinities together. Families bring food and eat together. The farm together from one family's farm they rotate to the next.

THE MGANDA.
Like other dances, Mganda is common among the chewa tribe of central region of Malawi. This is probably the second most most populated dance after Gule wamkulu among the Chewa. It is practiced mostly in such districts as Dowa, Lilongwe, Ntchisi, Dedza and Kasungu, and is primarily  an entertainment dance performed during wedding ceremonies. The dancers are usually in a group of 6 to 10, sometimes more with a drummer in front of the dancers.

A Mganda group captured as it was entertaining people when The Malawi Project was donating medical supplies to a hospital in Dowa.

Men who form two or three lines facing the same direction perform it, but as they dance, they systematically face all direction s. The dancers hold small flags and a "badza" (made from gourd).

If Mganda is performed during wedding ceremonies, entertained viewers throw money to the most entertaining dancer. After the perfimance, the group is awarded/paid for the performance. Apart from entertaining alone, the dance is a source of income for the members.

Mganda is also perfomed merely for entertainment on functions such as political party rallies. Just like the sister dance, Chimtali (perfomed by women) Mganda is also perfomed during night under the moonlight in villages for entertainment.
People come from all corners of the village and surrounding villages to watch men dancing. It therefore proves and shows the unity these dances brings in everyday life of people.

MALAWIAN DANCES: GULE WAMKULU

The malawi people are of Bantu origns and comprise of many different ethinics groups. These include Chewa, Nyanja, Yao, Tumbuka, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni and Ngonde. The Chewa people are from the largest part of the population group and are largely in the central and southern parts of Malawi.

Traditional dances of Malawi Chewa's is Gule wamkulu. Among the Chewa tribe, Gule wamkulu (transilated as the "Great dance") was inherited from the tribe past and are performed under circimustances. This dance is also a secret society of the Chewa; an ethinic group of the history, belief system, dances, attire and death. The spirit's world is believed to be presented as Gule Wamkulu.

Gule wamkulu dates back to the great Chewa Empire of the seventeenth centuary. This is performed by Chewa people of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. Gule wamkulu is a dance that accompanies initiation ceremony, weddings, funerals and the installation of chiefs. 

Gule wamkulu was a secret cult, that involves a ritual dance practiced among the Chewa in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia. This dance is also intangible heritage cultural sector according to the UNESCO as immigrants constructions are identified through Gule wamkulu.

Gule wamkulu behaves as a multi-state. It is asociety that practices traditional Chewa religion rituals. Its attire illustration depicts a stylised scene of Gule wamkulu with a compilation of structures.

As such, Gule wamkulu legitimates chiefship by linking it to the old Chewa policies and by producing the symbolic elements of an older cultural order.
It is essential feature of the Chewa countryside. Morethan a dance forum, it is a men's organisation and ritual system that is woven into the fabric of the community. As a men's organisation, Gule wamkulu manifests itself in two senses.
It is an ancestoral dance performed by spirits  and animals collectively called (Zilombo) which are masked dancers who perform at the chiefs initiation in his village.

In a less restricted sense, Gule wamkulu is the widest community of male initiates. Every Chewa boy undergoes initiation and consider himself a member of the society.

As a functional tradition, Gule wamkulu provides the basic ritual needs of the men and women, both officiating at funerals at puberty initiation and at the installation of chiefs. As a ritual system, it consolidates a community around local chiefs and impress on the community conceptual categories that make its internal composition coherent.