Music and Social Protest (Malawi)

The Colonial Era

Colonialism, which was formalized when Malawi became a British Protectorate in 1891, marked an end to the slave trade but brought settlers who occupied much of the arable land. This loss of land and independent labor to the settlers, and the resulting estates and the emigration of men to the mines, contributed to rural poverty. Songs composed during this period—many beginning as work songs—referring to atsamunda (settlers) were resurrected during the 1949–1961 fight for self-government. The songs protested the harshness of colonial labor practices such as thangata (indentured labor) and machila (the sedan chair the colonists had Africans carry them in). Several of these songs and laments survive to this day.

During both World Wars, Malawi was a major source for the King's African Rifles. This disproportionate recruitment of Malawians was resented for many reasons: unfair colonial taxes and land policies, the harsh war conditions, the lack of compensation for dead African soldiers, and the poor prospects for those who survived the war. Traditional songs were appropriated as marching songs by African soldiers and used to raise morale, to soften the considerable military discomforts, and to forge their identity as Nyasa (lakeland) soldiers, distinct from other African soldiers. Some songs described the tribulations of the “German war” or nkhondo ya azungu (the white men's war). Many protest songs from this era made their way into traditional dances and work songs.

After returning from the wars, Indigenous soldiers formed social organizations that mixed Western and traditional elements, beni, mal-ipenga, and mganda being the most famous. Beni and mganda were not just dances but social movements with, in some cases, political overtones. These syncretic entertainment dances combined elements of Western military culture with local music, instruments, and dance, as well as social male bonding and political protest. The Tonga mganda societies, for example, sang Tingupangana (We agreed), a reminder to the colonial power that Malawi was a temporary protectorate to be given back to the natives “once they were educated.”

Between the wars, increased migration and soldiers' deaths contributed to rural poverty. This influenced the evolution of some female musical traditions. New dances like chiwoda emerged, and new meanings were injected into existing ones like chimtali. Chiwoda (as in “to order”) referred to the “mail ordering” of brides by migrant workers. Their agents often found them the best-looking brides at “sexy” chiwoda dances. Chiwoda music also had an element of protest at the labor migration system. It also enabled migrants to keep their identity by marrying Malawi women, if only by chiwoda. Chimtali, popular in Malawi's central region, included lyrics like Kuntandizi (To the mines), which bemoaned the cruelties of migrant labor: “What shall I do? I lie awake sleepless,” the woman declares in the song.

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