This
will be my last post about my time in Malawi as I have now moved to Cape Town
where I plan to stay until March 2013. But there are a few odds and ends about
Malawi life that I wanted to share. And the photos interspersed were taken on a
recent trip to Liwonde National Park, about 3 hours south of Lilongwe, where I
stayed at Bushman’s Baobab.
Religion
The
concept of someone being an atheist is difficult for a Malawian to comprehend.
The majority of the population are active Christians across a wide range of
denominations (including Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian etc), while about 15%
or so of the population are Muslims. There are mosques in many of the towns I
have visited and a number of businesses close on Friday afternoon for Friday
prayers. In the part of town where I lived, the Baptists are on one corner, the
Seventh Day Adventists on another, the Jehovah’s Witnesses just up the road and
the Assembly of God just down the road, while the Baha’i chapel is on the
neighbouring street with a Jewish school around the corner! With so many
options within walking distance, who could possibly not find a faith to suit?
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| Baobab tree in Liwonde NP |
And
folks really seemed to embrace their faiths, attending church each week as well
as mid-week study groups etc. I don’t think I have ever lived anywhere where
such a high proportion the community practised an active faith. My landlady did
tell me that in the villages, there was a degree of pragmatic flexibility
regarding which faith one was currently practising – if the mosque was offering
the right inducements, one might convert to Islam for a time, but one could
revert to a Christian tradition should the local church offer a better deal
later down the track! I have no idea how true that is, but it makes a good
story anyway!! The reality of life in Malawi is that Christian and Muslim live
in harmony with one another with no apparent tensions or resentments, which is
a good state of affairs I think.
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| Baobab and huts at Bushman's Baobab camp |
The
spiritual and supernatural realms are very real and present in much of today’s
Malawi culture, as well as in their history. I enjoyed listening to a very
passionate debate (in English) between two of my commuter buddies in the staff
minibus one evening, as they argued over whether it was possible to rationally
believe in God but not believe in witchcraft. I think the conclusion was that
they agreed to differ!
Politics
My
understanding of the history of Malawi prior to the 1891 colonisation by Great
Britain, at which time the country was named Nyasaland, is that it was made up
of a series of tribes with kings who exercised their power through spiritual
authority rather than warfare. A quote from a book which provided a brief synopsis
of history over the past few centuries gives an insight into the power
structures:
‘New
ruler’s regalia included beads, shells, ivory bangles to signify status and entitlement
to collect tributes. Symbols of the royalty included an iron stool and a ritual
dagger used for rain-making…
New
rulers also received a bundle of charms and a fly-whisk that endowed him with
mystical powers to protect the community from war or other dangers such as
witchcraft and predatory crocodiles and lions. Lacking a standing army, such
mystical powers were the primary means through which Malawi rulers maintained
authority. Eventually this strategy led to the collapse of the Malawi kingdom
as distant rulers sought to become independent and rule their own kingdoms.’
I
know it’s not very respectful, but my mental image of 2 rulers opposing one
another in a duel with fly-whisks at dawn is one that conjures up amusement,
not shock and awe! No wonder outside tribes and then the British had little
trouble conquering the Malawian tribes. Maybe we should revive the tradition
and insist all modern armies be only armed with fly-whisks, no guns allowed!
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| Elephant in Liwonde National Park |
However,
I do think that this lack of a strong warrior mentality amongst much of the
population, even today, has stood the country in good stead as it has enjoyed a
relatively peaceful transition from colony to independence in 1964 when the
benign dictator Kamuzu Banda took over as President. His 30 years at the helm
was characterised by a continuation of colonial style policies and he was
fairly autocratic, by all accounts. However he was wise enough to relinquish
power in 1994 when the population demanded multi-party democratic rule. Since
then there have been various general elections and presidents.
When
I first arrived, the incumbent President was Bingu wa Mutharika, whose first
term had been very successful, but by now he was 2 years into his second term
and it wasn’t looking so good. Unexpectedly, he died about a week after I
arrived, the day before Easter. I was fairly concerned about being in a
leader-less African country, not knowing what would happen next, whether there
would be a military coup or political uprising or some other serious unrest.
Not really the sort of situation I wanted to find myself in. And as it turned
out there was an attempt by the late President’s supporters to subvert the
Constitution that stated that the Vice-President takes on the role of President
for the remainder of the five year presidential term. They didn’t like the VP
and delayed the announcement of Bingu’s death for 2 days until they figured out
what they could do. Thankfully for the country, the Constitution was followed
and now the President is Joyce Banda, the first female president anywhere in
southern Africa. She seems to be doing a good job on most fronts, especially
economic, as far I can tell, so I sincerely wish her every success in the
challenge of governing Malawi.
To
me, it is a testament to the character of the people that such a peaceful
transition of power could occur in a country which has only known real
democracy for 18 years. It is a credit to them.
People
are very engaged in politics and endlessly discuss and analyse what is going on
and who is doing what. The population seems much more politically aware than I
am used to, with many folks enjoying robust debates around every issue. I
suspect that this is at least partly due to the fact that the impact of
politics is very strongly felt in everyday life. Good and bad decisions can have a
significant direct effect on people’s welfare to a much
greater extent than in Australia and NZ, where most policies can seem very
remote from the everyday.
And
it is not just politics that spark passionate debates – many of the people I have
met seem to enjoy animated conversations on a wide range of topics. As
elsewhere, sport is a perennial favourite with the European and UK football
(soccer) leagues avidly followed by many. So I have swapped the passionate
discourse about AFL during my car-pooling commute to work in Melbourne for endless
debates about football here! Despite the intensity of the discussions, they
always seem to me to be very good-natured and good humoured, with a lot of
teasing and laughing, and no acrimony.
Transportation
Very
few people in Malawi own cars, but many families have a bicycle, so this is the
main form of wheeled transport and there are more bikes on the roads than cars,
even out of the city. Bikes are used to get people from place to place, as you
might expect. What you might not expect is just how many people can fit on one
bike at one time – on several occasions I have seen 4! The rider up front, pedaling for dear life, doubling a passenger behind on a seat on the carrier, who
has a child strapped to their back with another child squashed in between rider
and passenger – very efficient!
In
fact, bike taxis with passenger seats on the carrier are very common and very
cheap. The riders make a modest living transporting folks around the place. I
used one to get me about 7 km from the bus drop off point to my accommodation
at Liwonde National Park, and the seats are surprisingly comfortable. It is
actually quite a relaxing way to travel as you have time to soak in the surroundings.
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| Kudu in Liwonde NP |
However,
it is not just people that bikes transport, but goods. All manner of goods – live
chickens, goats and pigs; huge stacks of firewood carefully slotted into a
frame that curves up high behind the rider; sacks of maize; large bags of
charcoal; baskets of cassava, vegetables or whatever. You name it, it can fit
on a bike and off you go!
For
those unable to power a two-wheeled bike due to disability (not uncommon here,
sadly), there are trikes with a chain that operates through hand-powered
pedals, which are an effective way to give such people reasonable mobility.
And
if one doesn’t have a bike, then you walk. So many pedestrians! Everywhere!
Some unencumbered, others with loads large and small, many women with children
strapped to their backs.
The
vehicle fleet that does ply the roads is neither new nor well-maintained. The diesel
fumes belched from many vehicles contributes to a serious smog problem. The
most ubiquitous vehicles are the minibuses which act as the public transport
system within and between towns. These are designed to carry about 16
passengers, but through the addition of a couple of extra flip-down seats and judicious
squashing, can carry many more people – the most I experienced in one of my
rides was 22 people!
Many
of the public minibuses are in very poor shape with doors that don’t close
properly and appalling rust and no suspension etc. Even the staff minibus which
took me to and from work would not have passed a road-worthy test anywhere as
the rust was so bad that I could see the road through the holes in the floor in
places!
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| Impala in Liwonde NP |
Then
you add the crazy drivers into the mix, whose regard for the speed limits and
traffic rules is completely non-existent, and I am amazed that I didn’t see any
accidents during my times on the roads! I am sure accidents do occur and the
injuries would be much more serious than they need to be because no-one wears
seat belts, even when they are installed in the vehicle! Maybe folks are
relying on their god to keep them safe? I took an intercity coach from Lilongwe
to get to Liwonde, which was supposed to leave at 8am but in fact didn’t leave
until it was full – all seats and standing room occupied, so we were about 70
people or so. Just before we finally left, about 9.30am, one passenger got up
and began to preach at full volume (in Chichewa, so I was unsure of content of the sermon).
I was unimpressed by being yelled at in a confined public space for 20 minutes
or more, but my fellow travelers took it in their stride and responded to his
exhortations with appropriate responses and even joined in singing a hymn or
two. Oh well, it was all part of the experience for me!
I am
going to finish my ramblings about life in Malawi by sharing some of the
wonderful ‘Africanisms’ I have been collecting from roadside signs. Some are
effusive names for businesses and organisations, others just appealed to my
sense of humour. I hope you enjoy them and I will see you in Cape Town…
Churches:
Life
Changers International Church: Graceland
The
Christ Embassy
Winner’s
Chapel International, where Unlimited Breakthroughs Happen
Businesses:
Heaven
Bound Funeral Home
Hopeful
Discount Retail Wholesale Shop
One
Belief AgriShop
God
is Good Minimart
God
is Wonderful Plumbing and Electrical
Witsend
Internet café (I know how they feel some days!)
Emergency
Happiness Shop (they do cell phone repairs)
And from
signs on the side of the road:
Chicken
parts for sale (does this imply spare legs or wings or???)
Building
products: Skerting boards, corninces and facial boards
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