VOA英语2010年-In Malawi, Traditional Dance Called ‘Wicke

Nyau is a secret society whose membership is usually open only to the Chewas in central Malawi.

The tribe is mainly known for Gule wankulu, or Nyau -- literally¹ its "big dance," performed by masked men called spirits. It's restricted to the men of the Chewa ethnic² group.

Dyson Gonthi is the director of Chewa Cultural Heritage and Development, a group seeking to promote and preserve local culture.

 

"We [perform] Gule wankulu when we want to install a Chewa chief, during the death of a chief, even at times when the chief commemorates⁴ something special that happened in his village," says Gonthi. "So I can agree, there is no relationship with Christianity because [the dance] is [alleged to be] full of evil spirits."

The dancers, who are sometimes naked, are called "spirits."

"If he dances while naked you don't laugh, you should not look surprised, you must take it normally," he says. "If you look surprised, annoyed or disappointed, anything can happen to you through Juju or charms. It [is] a dangerous dance."

Gonthi says incorporating the Gule wankulu dance into Christmas celebrations will bring what he calls "sanity⁵" into the traditional practice.

"We want to get rid of the charms, and the way we talk, because we sometimes use obscene language." says Gonthi. "We also want to avoid looking naked. And doing away with [using the dance] as punishment when somebody misbehaves in the village, and we take an opportunity to .... even put him to death."

Gonthi says during Christmas celebrations dancers are encouraged to compose songs that glorify⁶ God, as opposed to those with obscene and seductive language.

But Christians⁷ say involving the dance into Christmas celebrations is an insult to Christianity.

Davison Makhole is the deacon of the Nyasa Mission of Evangelical Church of Malawi in the commercial capital, Blantyre.

"We commemorate³ Christmas [as] the day we believe Jesus was born," explains Makhole. " When we come to Nyau, it is basically the cultural belief which is very different from teachings of Jesus; theirs is associated with evil."

Gonthi quotes the Bible as saying Jesus came for everybody.

But Makhole is not convinced.
""Of course, yes. Jesus Christ was born for everybody, including the Nyau people," he says. "But in most cases, they use charms in their dances. For example, the Nyau dancer can dance on the string [or rope suspended above the ground without falling down]; can we call that science?"

Makhole says the Chewa should renounce⁸ their traditional beliefs and join Christianity, rather than mixing the two.

The Chewa ethnic group is found in some parts of Mozambique and Zambia, as well as in Malawi. History says the tribe originated in the 15th century in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The paramount⁹ chief of all the Chewas is Chief Undi, who lives in Zambia. In Malawi, the first president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, was a Chewa. Under his rule, Nyau dancers were accorded special respect at his political functions, and the language of the Chewas – Chichewa – became the national language.

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

4 commemorates   

n.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的名词复数 )v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• A tombstone is erected in memory of whoever it commemorates. 墓碑是为纪念它所纪念的人而建的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A tablet commemorates his patriotic activities. 碑文铭记他的爱国行动。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 sanity   

n.心智健全，神智正常，判断正确

参考例句：

• I doubt the sanity of such a plan.我怀疑这个计划是否明智。
• She managed to keep her sanity throughout the ordeal.在那场磨难中她始终保持神志正常。

6 glorify   

vt.颂扬，赞美，使增光，美化

参考例句：

• Politicians have complained that the media glorify drugs.政治家们抱怨媒体美化毒品。
• We are all committed to serving the Lord and glorifying His name in the best way we know.我们全心全意敬奉上帝，竭尽所能颂扬他的美名。

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

8 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

9 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。