All work and no play makes for a dull life but last weekend I was the guest of my good friend Anna Kachikho, Minister of Tourism and Culture, as we joined the Lhomwe Tribe to celebrate the groups first anniversary of the revival of the Lhomwe culture and tradtion in the presence of Ngwazi Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, President of Malawi.
Anna dressed me from head to toe in traditional dress - yes even the shoes were made specially for the occasion - and I had no problem entering into the spirit of the day. Everyone was wearing the cloth specially designed for the function. This is a tradtion in Malawi and the men have jackets, shirts, hats made and the women dresses and headgear so I blended in well.
After the opening speeches it was down to the business of the day and the dancing began. A raised podium had been constructed so that everyone had a good view of the dancers. There was a break for lunch and afterwards the dancers returned - it was quite a spectacle with all the different colours and styles of dress, the constant drum beat and the whistle blowing.
By the time the turn of the Phalombe women from Anna's home village came around I was ready to take part. I had been coached in the style of the dance and as we took our place on the podium there was a huge cheer as the crowd realised there was a msungu dancing and we had to do a second round much to the satisfaction of the crowd. I heard later that this was reported over the radio but thankfully they didn't know my name. But, of the only two pictures to be published in The Nation, yes you've guessed it ,there's one with the msungu! It was a long way to travel but I thoroughly enjoyed the day and look forward to next year's event.
Now back to work......................
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