One Cultural Souvenir

by Shana Ogren Lourey

When I lived in a village in Malawi, Africa from 2007-2009, I was intrigued by the mysterious and prominent secret society there named the gule wamkulu.  Translated from the Malawian language of Chichewa, this literally means the big dance. But it is more than a dance. 

The gule wear elaborate costumes made out of feathers, wood, socks, animal skins, and straw.  The costumes mask their faces and bodies. They represent a variety of different characters, from both evil spirits and ancestors, to social mores and wild animals. 

The gule wamkulu has a strong presence at funerals, weddings, celebrations, and local ceremonies.  When they show up to an event, they claim the emotional stage outside while all of the on-lookers gather around them in a large circle.  Entertaining the crowd through dramatic gestures and performing ritual dances together using role playing and often satire, their individual identities outside of this performance are hidden and are only known to fellow gule. 

I glamorized the gule wamkulu in my mind because it was theirs.  It was reflective of traditional Malawian history, not the white Christian and Catholic influence that lays heavy in the country.  Tied to a love and worship of a rich Caucasian outsider, there is a low personal self-esteem and a difficulty to appreciate their own local Chewa culture.  The gule remain a reminder of a process that started in their land and with their people.