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The first thing that comes to mind at the mention of ngoma is a picture of Ngoni warrior dancers, while the wriggling waists of chimtali dancers takes your mind to political rallies where a common sight is that of women in zitenje. Beni, on the other hand, beckons memories of the First World war, as dancers mimic a military display with their salutations and military attire.
But last Friday night, all these traditional dances and more were performed as an expression of praise to God, giving the conservative concept associated with Christian worship a complete shutdown.
A look at the invitation card alone was enough to show that it was not going to be just another gospel music concert. Dubbed the ‘Sing Malawian Gospel Concert and Dinner’, the show was one that those who spared a few hours of their precious time to attend it, will live to remember.
And the proud entertainers were Blantyre Joint Choir, an interdenominational group which was established in 1977 as the United Choir. The group managed to take the gospel music-loving audience that filled Le Meridien Mount Soche’s famous Njamba Room on this Friday night to another level.
The dinner, a buffet with a variety of tasty cuisines, started around 19:40 hours, amid soothing lyrics of old and familiar tunes from the legendary choir.
Then came time for the main agenda of the function — the cultural dances. They ranged from chimtali, ngoma, mganda, nkhwende, beni, sikili and manganje, well mingled with music composed by several prolific Malawian song writers like Mjura Mkandawire (who was also the guest of honour), Nathan Chithando, Mawerera Tembo, Joshua Chienda, Kajowola Phiri, and others. Quite an amazing sight.
High profile and yet fitting for everyone — from children to adults — the concert left the audience mesmerised.
Reverend Stewart Lane, who was part of the audience later said to the organisers: “Thank you very much for the Sing Malawian evening which gave me great joy.”
He described it as “a magnificent and chaotic blend of features from all Malawian and western cultures, arrived at not through the sterile intellectual processes of the west, but through Malawians having the self-confidence to adopt from each one whatever seemed good to them at the moment”.
Lane added: “If only we could do the same with our government, business and education structures instead of reading Azungu textbooks and trying to apply what they say!”
Another patron, Mapendo Mkwaira commented: “It was magnificent, and it has exceeded my expectations. I didn’t expect people to respond this way.”
The choir’s vibrant display of music coupled with the celebrated cultural dances ensured the patrons’ expectations were not dashed. Simply put, they gave it their best.
“It was one of its kind. Gospel music on a different level,” said yet another patron, Tione Mtalimanja adding: “I enjoyed the blend of cultural dances and gospel music.”
Indeed, the masterly fusing of cultural dances and gospel music was something that could not have gone unnoticed. In fact, it was the whole idea behind the function — to make Malawians wake up to the realisation that Malawi is rich, musically.
“Gospel music [in Malawi] has developed tremendously, and many artists of very good quality have emerged. However, most of the music performed by Malawian Gospel artists is foreign,” read part of the introductory.
Even the guest of honour, Mkandawire, concurred in his enlightening speech that most gospel music beats in Malawi are foreign, probably owing to the fact that historically, gospel music is a western concept that stems from Negro spirituals sang by African slaves in America.
Mkandawire defined music as “a universal language through which the composer speaks to the listener. It is not the words, lyrics or verses. But it is universal communication.” And as proof of this, everyone appeared to be having a good time, including the white audience who might not have been familiar with the language nor the dances associated with the music as they (language and dances) were purely local.
Another patron, Lillian Kawaza agreed saying it was “pure Malawian taste of music”.
“I particularly loved the sikili dance. I’ve never experienced entertainment of this kind. It was very unique and exciting,” said Kawaza.
No doubt the concert caught the audience’s attention from the start, and although it took longer than generally anticipated, making a few individuals leave in between, those who were patient enough to wait until the end did not go home disappointed as the performers had seemingly saved the best for last.
As Lane said: “It amused me during the last section, to ponder the horror with which Rev. Elmslie, author of Among the Wild Ngoni, would have viewed the use of traditional dances in worship and I was greatly moved to watch you [performers] consigning him to the dustbin of history with such freedom, verve and obvious enjoyment.”
Towards the very end of the function, the audience were asked to vote for what they felt were the best dances for the night. And not surprisingly ngoma dance emerged winner, followed by sikili, and they each went away with hampers from Candlex Limited.
Other dances like chimtali, mganda also received consolation prizes.
“The show has been nice. I have really enjoyed the traditional dances. I think Malawians need more of such shows,” said Treza Kuyeli, who works for Graham Carr in Blantyre.
And such sentiments were expressed by many, proving that Malawi truly is rich musically.
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