Communities resort to gulewamkulu to keep learners in school in Ntchisi

MALAWI: Communities under the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Nthondo in Ntchisi district are using gulewamkulu (a secret cult, involving a ritual dance practiced among the Chewa in Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique) to keep learners in schools.

This was revealed on Friday when N'zatonse Project conducted a media tour in the district to establish how communities have benefitted from the project since it was implemented in 2014.

Village Headman Nthondo said the N'zatonse project brought about a cordial relationship among initiation camp leaders, school authorities, and the traditional leaders, a development that now spurs learners' interest in their education.

"In the past, the relationship between the initiation camp leaders and us was very sour. But through N'zatonse Project, we realized the importance of working together as opinion leaders. To date, our relationship is so cordial that we are working for hand in glove to make sure our children remain in school and there are no cases of child marriages or early pregnancies, “ said the chief.

“When some children are continuously absenting themselves from school, we use gulewamkulu which roams around the villages to scare them back to school.”

Commenting on the sentiments, one of the initiation camp leaders, who is also the chairperson for the committee of the initiation camp leaders under Senior Chief Nthondo, Wilson Chimphonda, said in conjunction with traditional leaders, they passed by-laws that guide them to hold their camps during weekends so they do not block children from going to school during weekdays.

Chimphonda said: "With N'zatonse Project in force now, there is a tremendous change in our area in the sense that in the past, we used to celebrate our gulewamkulu tradition from Monday through Friday; but this robbed our children of their interest in education. So, through the project, we noted that it was unfair to them. That is why we decided to change from holding the camps during weekdays to weekends. We also make sure that the celebrations end on Sunday so that all children can go back to school by Monday."

Chimphonda added that if the children fail to go to school, a charge is placed on the village headmen whom the children come from and they are commanded to offer a goat as a ransom which is sold and its proceeds are used to buy stationery for needy learners.

Under N'zatonse Project, the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM) has been implementing rights, gender, and faith-based approaches to advocate for and reduce social inequalities in the district.

With funding from KfW through Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and Dan Church Aid (DCA), the project is taking place in Ntchisi, Ntcheu, Blantyre, Thyolo, Mzimba, and Rumphi.