Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. – John 12:1
“When I came in 1958, our traditional dances were dying because the missionaries of all denominations, particularly missionaries in my own church, the CCAP (Church of the Central Africa Presbytery) told my people that dancing was a sin… Do not let anyone make you believe that if you dance your own (traditional) dance you are not going to heaven…. There is nothing wrong with dancing any African dance.
“That is what I have said many, many times. Here (in Malawi), men dance by themselves, women there. But in Europe and America, when I was there, what did I see? A married man with another man’s wife, a married woman with another woman’s husband….if God is going to burn anyone for dancing, he is not going to burn. He is going to burn the white man – the Americans, the British, the French and the Germans…They have their own dances. So why should chimdidi be sin? Why should chioda be sin? Why should Ingoma (Ngoma) be sin? Do not believe anyone who tells you that. If anyone tells you that (dancing traditional dances is sin), tell them Kamuzu says: you are a liar!” – Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda, President of Malawi, March 9, 1968
In recent years, there has been the tendency in democratic Malawi to turn full and demonize various traditional and cultural activities. One such activity has been Ngoma dancers at funerals. It is not just the leadership, but even members of the faithful, have been pooh-poohing cultural activities such as traditional dancing. I recall even the laying of a floral arrangement on top of my father’s casket was seen as un-Christian.
The battle to allow the floral design my cousin had made (in her mind desiring that we his children should remember the beautiful flowers). Was long and lasted up to the HHI cemetery. Both men and women leaders would not have it. It is never done. Same principle was made about my Mom wearing her pearls in her casket.
About my father and the floral design, I took the session clerk aside and asked him what the church needed my father’s membership card (complete with tithing history); his response was so that it is placed in the coffin with him. “Will St. Peter deny my father entry into heaven if he shows up without the card,” I asked the church leader.
Meanwhile, I saw in the corner of my eyes, one of the women leaders picked up the floral design for my father’s casket and placed it on top of the casket. As the coffin was being lowered, the last thing I saw and have beheld in my memory is the beautiful floral arrangement my cousin made for my Dad.
There are many things we have within the church today around the world that are from traditions and cultures. We embrace them, while at the same time throw our own out the window. I wish to unpack just a few of them
1. The robe worn by ministers, priests, the Pope, and Jesus, Moses – These garments are worn by men in the Middle East as protection against sand storms. Many parts of the Middle East are arid and dry areas prone to sand storms; hence the wearing of head gears (as worn by the Saudi leader that covers his ears (to protect ears from sand storms).
2. The Christmas Tree
The Christmas tree originated in Germany. It is claimed that in Germany about 723 the English missionary St. Boniface encountered pagans preparing a sacrifice at an oak tree dedicated to the god Thor. Boniface took an ax to the tree, and, when not struck down by their god, he proclaimed to the awed pagans that a nearby evergreen was their “holy tree.” Other sources report that a fir tree grew on the site of the fallen oak. And evergreen trees became part of Christian rites in Germany, and in the Middle Ages “paradise trees”
4. The word Easter- The origins of Easter can be traced back to ancient pagan celebrations of the vernal equinox, which were observed in numerous cultures around the globe. As symbols of new life and rebirth, these celebrations frequently included feasting, dancing, and the exchange of eggs in Europe. With the spread of Christianity, these pagan traditions were incorporated into the new religion, and Easter took on a new significance as a celebration of Jesus Christ’s resurrection.
There are many other examples where the faith community in the north permitted traditional beliefs also called paganism, various cultural events be embraced by and spread through the world as part of religious practices.
As the faith communities throughout history, embraced the cultural and traditional practices around them, many times as a means of gaining people to embrace their religions, the Malawian faith communities ought to embrace the rich cultural and traditional legacies that are near and around them.
They could perhaps ditch old European cultural and traditional practices. This is a passionate fight for the permission of traditional dances at funerals and other cultural events. This is what Jesus would do.
