New DVD from Kungoni Centre in Mua, Malawi
This documentary, produced by Kungoni Centre of Culture and Art, presents a collection of 160 Gule characters filmed by Claude Boucher Chisale over 25 years (1988 to 2012) in the central Malawian areas of Mua, Mtakataka, Kapiri and Golomoti.
It reveals Gule Wamkulu as the storehouse of Chewa culture, showing the richness, creativity and originality of the Great Dance, which is placed at the service of the Mwambo, the teaching of the ancestors.
The film offers first-hand experience of the tremendous variety of characters and seeks to understand their hidden messages. It comprises a selection of sequences taken from the 800 hours of filming that Boucher has completed during these last three decades.
The key to an in-depth understanding of the Gule characters is to be found in Boucher’s two recent publications: “When Animals Sing and Spirits Dance’ (Oxford 2012) and its accompanying website; www.kasiyamaliro.org.
The DVD introduces the author and illustrates the numerous contexts in which Gule Wamkulu is performed: rain ceremonies, initiation, chieftainship, eldership, spirit possession, funeral commemoration, institutional and village festivals and political and health development rallies. The 160 Gule characters selected for this production are then presented in alphabetical order.
The film offers a full visual experience of what has been described in the two publications mentioned above. It complements the publications and invites deeper immersion into Chewa culture.
@ Kungoni 2012. Running time: 121 minutes.
New DVD from Kungoni Centre in Mua, Malawi
This documentary, produced by Kungoni Centre of Culture and Art, presents a collection of 160 Gule characters filmed by Claude Boucher Chisale over 25 years (1988 to 2012) in the central Malawian areas of Mua, Mtakataka, Kapiri and Golomoti.
It reveals Gule Wamkulu as the storehouse of Chewa culture, showing the richness, creativity and originality of the Great Dance, which is placed at the service of the Mwambo, the teaching of the ancestors.
The film offers first-hand experience of the tremendous variety of characters and seeks to understand their hidden messages. It comprises a selection of sequences taken from the 800 hours of filming that Boucher has completed during these last three decades.
The key to an in-depth understanding of the Gule characters is to be found in Boucher’s two recent publications: “When Animals Sing and Spirits Dance’ (Oxford 2012) and its accompanying website; www.kasiyamaliro.org.
The DVD introduces the author and illustrates the numerous contexts in which Gule Wamkulu is performed: rain ceremonies, initiation, chieftainship, eldership, spirit possession, funeral commemoration, institutional and village festivals and political and health development rallies. The 160 Gule characters selected for this production are then presented in alphabetical order.
The film offers a full visual experience of what has been described in the two publications mentioned above. It complements the publications and invites deeper immersion into Chewa culture.
@ Kungoni 2012. Running time: 121 minutes.
Congolese born at the very last day of 1974, Pierre Lukusa is a Missionary of Africa since his Oath on the 26th August 2005. Today, Father Lukusa is sharing his experience of life and his hope for the future.
Why did you go to Brazil?
I left my mission placement in Mozambique towards the end of 2011 for an anticipated home-leave in the DRCongo to find a way to treat my unbalanced drinking problem which was becoming alarming to myself and to the confreres. I was offered to go to Brazil for treatment at a rehabilitation centre for chemical dependents and alcoholics called “Fazenda d´Esperança”. It was founded by Father Hans Stapel, OFM, in collaboration with three lay persons; Nelson Giovanelli Rosendo, Iraci and Lucy. This organisation was officially recognised by the Pontifical Office of Laity after the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Fazenda on the 27th May 2007. I am here since August 2012 to deepen the program I started in February 2012 in Nairobi.
Was it easy to get a visa for Brazil?
No, it was not! I had to wait nearly a year to get it. This is why I was proposed to go to Nairobi to start the program. Our confrere Baptiste Mapunda helped me to get a place at the “Raphaelites Centre”. I went through a very intense therapeutic program whereby I learnt fascinating things about myself.
Can you share with us some of those discoveries?
Under the guidance of a personal counsellor, I understood that I was at an early stage with my problem. Actually, it was a very wise decision to seek for help. I was very open to my counsellor and honest with myself when it came to share about my childhood experiences and all my background to find out the cause of my misbehaviour.
It came clear to me that, since I lost my beloved mother when I was ten years old, I have been living unconsciously in a state of “loneliness” which I have been covering with a fake personality. I did not want to show that I was suffering from that loss. The social environment where I was brought up taught me that a man cannot weep for a loss. I had to hide it by all means.
This “loneliness” became a source of insecurity. In many other instances, I was feeling that nobody around me was sharing my interests. I was dying alone inside myself. I had to find a way out of this pain.
How would you summarise your inner self-awareness?
I am becoming an emotionally mature person. Loneliness is part of life, nothing catastrophic. The ones who groan, moan and wallow in self-pity will do the inappropriate thing, like drinking. Loneliness is painful, so is stomach-ache. Drinking may ease the pain but never eliminate it. I found myself in a situation whereby my alcoholism was not yet a “social-disease”. Through unconscious mechanisms, other people develop extra types of addiction to cope with their own frustrations.
How long do you plan to remain in Brazil?
It is already one year and a half since I left Mozambique. To be honest, I am not comfortable in moving from place to place. However, I believe that God is preparing me for something greater that will give sense to my mission. I was offered to stay another year in Fazenda da Esperança. I found it a bit long. But I also came to realise that I had to accept and take it as God´s providence for my good and that of the others. God loves me; He is offering me various opportunities to teach me about myself, to be stronger and serve Him better. Finally, I happily take it remembering the biblical statement I had chosen for my priestly ordination: “My grace is enough for you…” (2 Cor. 12: 9-10).
What is the general atmosphere of the Fazenda da Esperança?
The atmosphere is very conducive to regular personal reflections.
What would you say is the paradox of alcoholism?
Let us take an example. Drinking is a social act. The paradox is that the society that encourages drinking marginalises those who slips into alcoholism. This is how my drinking problem went underground.
Alcoholics suffer from rejection. More than the average individual, the alcoholic is naturally friendly and loving person. After a few drinks, he could be sociable, attentive, complimentary and talkative. His shyness would be overcome and he could relate more comfortably. Later, everyone´s hand is against him. The doors of employment or promotion are closed. His friends do not invite him around anymore. He may find the door of his own home or community closed. In his own eyes he becomes a man with no importance, a non-person consigned to oblivion, a prisoner in solitary confinement. This is another very common paradox.
What would be your recommendations?
When people think of an alcoholic, they refer to someone in his late stages of the disease: destitute, deadly ill, mentally confused, morally bankrupt and living only for alcohol. Yet, this deterioration began long before. In most cases it started years before any physical, psychological, spiritual or social damage become apparent.
Anyone who drinks alcoholic beverages is a potential candidate for alcoholism, for as long as he lives. A basic characteristic of alcoholism is that it is a progressive disease: it never gets better, only worse. However, since it can be treated, everybody, even non-drinkers, would be wise to know the signs and symptoms and at what stages they appear. This way they are better equipped to recognise it in themselves or in others. They become aware of how severe the problem is and how urgent it is at any stage of the disease (early, middle or late stage). The bottom line is that we should not delay seeking or providing help.
I am very happy with what I am going through. It was and still is an opportunity for growth. I am also grateful to my confreres who helped me to find a way out. May God bless you all!
I left my mission placement in Mozambique towards the end of 2011 for an anticipated home-leave in the DRCongo to find a way to treat my unbalanced drinking problem which was becoming alarming to myself and to the confreres. I was offered to go to Brazil for treatment at a rehabilitation centre for chemical dependents and alcoholics called “Fazenda d´Esperança”. It was founded by Father Hans Stapel, OFM, in collaboration with three lay persons; Nelson Giovanelli Rosendo, Iraci and Lucy. This organisation was officially recognised by the Pontifical Office of Laity after the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Fazenda on the 27th May 2007. I am here since August 2012 to deepen the program I started in February 2012 in Nairobi.
Was it easy to get a visa for Brazil?
No, it was not! I had to wait nearly a year to get it. This is why I was proposed to go to Nairobi to start the program. Our confrere Baptiste Mapunda helped me to get a place at the “Raphaelites Centre”. I went through a very intense therapeutic program whereby I learnt fascinating things about myself.
Can you share with us some of those discoveries?
Under the guidance of a personal counsellor, I understood that I was at an early stage with my problem. Actually, it was a very wise decision to seek for help. I was very open to my counsellor and honest with myself when it came to share about my childhood experiences and all my background to find out the cause of my misbehaviour.
It came clear to me that, since I lost my beloved mother when I was ten years old, I have been living unconsciously in a state of “loneliness” which I have been covering with a fake personality. I did not want to show that I was suffering from that loss. The social environment where I was brought up taught me that a man cannot weep for a loss. I had to hide it by all means.
This “loneliness” became a source of insecurity. In many other instances, I was feeling that nobody around me was sharing my interests. I was dying alone inside myself. I had to find a way out of this pain.
How would you summarise your inner self-awareness?
I am becoming an emotionally mature person. Loneliness is part of life, nothing catastrophic. The ones who groan, moan and wallow in self-pity will do the inappropriate thing, like drinking. Loneliness is painful, so is stomach-ache. Drinking may ease the pain but never eliminate it. I found myself in a situation whereby my alcoholism was not yet a “social-disease”. Through unconscious mechanisms, other people develop extra types of addiction to cope with their own frustrations.
How long do you plan to remain in Brazil?
It is already one year and a half since I left Mozambique. To be honest, I am not comfortable in moving from place to place. However, I believe that God is preparing me for something greater that will give sense to my mission. I was offered to stay another year in Fazenda da Esperança. I found it a bit long. But I also came to realise that I had to accept and take it as God´s providence for my good and that of the others. God loves me; He is offering me various opportunities to teach me about myself, to be stronger and serve Him better. Finally, I happily take it remembering the biblical statement I had chosen for my priestly ordination: “My grace is enough for you…” (2 Cor. 12: 9-10).
What is the general atmosphere of the Fazenda da Esperança?
The atmosphere is very conducive to regular personal reflections.
What would you say is the paradox of alcoholism?
Let us take an example. Drinking is a social act. The paradox is that the society that encourages drinking marginalises those who slips into alcoholism. This is how my drinking problem went underground.
Alcoholics suffer from rejection. More than the average individual, the alcoholic is naturally friendly and loving person. After a few drinks, he could be sociable, attentive, complimentary and talkative. His shyness would be overcome and he could relate more comfortably. Later, everyone´s hand is against him. The doors of employment or promotion are closed. His friends do not invite him around anymore. He may find the door of his own home or community closed. In his own eyes he becomes a man with no importance, a non-person consigned to oblivion, a prisoner in solitary confinement. This is another very common paradox.
What would be your recommendations?
When people think of an alcoholic, they refer to someone in his late stages of the disease: destitute, deadly ill, mentally confused, morally bankrupt and living only for alcohol. Yet, this deterioration began long before. In most cases it started years before any physical, psychological, spiritual or social damage become apparent.
Anyone who drinks alcoholic beverages is a potential candidate for alcoholism, for as long as he lives. A basic characteristic of alcoholism is that it is a progressive disease: it never gets better, only worse. However, since it can be treated, everybody, even non-drinkers, would be wise to know the signs and symptoms and at what stages they appear. This way they are better equipped to recognise it in themselves or in others. They become aware of how severe the problem is and how urgent it is at any stage of the disease (early, middle or late stage). The bottom line is that we should not delay seeking or providing help.
I am very happy with what I am going through. It was and still is an opportunity for growth. I am also grateful to my confreres who helped me to find a way out. May God bless you all!
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- Fr. Hans Stapel, OFM, Pierre Lukusa and Mr. Nelson Giovanelli Rosendo
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- Sessions of initiation to the spirituality of the Fazenda
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- Singing while waiting for meal
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- With Philipe, one of the young chemical dependents
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- Nuns from the Clarists Monastery
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- Last day of sessions of initiation
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- Visit to the national sanctuary; Our Lady of Aparecida
Welcome to this new interview of the Antislavery Campaign Series with Annmarie Early.
In this interview we explore the reality of slavery from the perspective of “Attachment Theory,” narrative affects and neurobiology.
Annmarie’s insights allow us to better understand the biological happenings that cause acts of violence. We shall see how early experiences in our lives (relationship with our caregivers) extend through our lifespan and across contexts, greatly at the subconscious level.
We shall navigate into new areas of awareness receiving insightful tools for our pastoral work, personal and community life. In the last part of the interview we shall explore religious life from the angle of “Attachment Theory.”
This resource interview invites us to jump into liminal spaces of initial and ongoing religious formation.
Dear Fr. Christopher,
Greetings from Merrivale. I hope you are fine. I want to inform you of the sudden stroke that my Father had on Friday evening and apparently they have also found him with a brain tumor. He has been admitted at UTH Ward H10 (Manure Maxwell Nzou). I ask that you may remember him in your prayers.
Harrison Banda, Third Year Theology at Merrivale.
INVITATION
TO THE LAUNCHING OF THE FIRST BOOK OF FENZA PUBLICATIONS:
DREAMS, Where do Biblical, Zambia and Western Approaches Meet?
by Gotthard Rosner, Bernhard Udelhoven & Patrick Mumbi
Venue: Faith and Encounter Centre (FENZA), Bauleni
Leopards Hill Road, next to Yatsani Radio
Date: Friday, 15th March 2013
at 17:30 hours
You are most welcome to join us on this joyful occasion.
The FENZA Team
P.S. The booklet (110 Pages) will be sold for 30 K.
Pope Benedict’s prayer intention for March
“May respect for nature grow with the awareness that all creation is God’s work entrusted to human responsibility!”
Care for creation is particularly important in Zambia which is one of the greatest producers of copper in the world. A documentary concerning Zambian copper was aired recently on ZNBC TV. It is entitled “Stealing Africa”. Lasting only 28 minutes it is well worth seeing and can be viewed on You Tube by typing “Stealing Africa” into your search engine.
“Stealing Africa” brings out in a dramatic form what the Pope is asking us to pray over: while the copper extracted in Zambia is highly valuable most of the profits go overseas leaving ordinary Zambians impoverished. The same could be applied to other countries in Africa including Malawi. In addition it raises questions about the ethics of the mining companies and their lack of care of the environment and the secrecy about the levels pollution caused by their extractive activities.
Care for the environment which is God’s gift to us is central to our faith as Christians. Ensuring a just tax system is in place and that the monies thus collected do in fact go to benefit the poor of Zambia is also central to our Christian faith.
Such issue call for our prayer and Christian prophetic action!
Charles Searson, SJ
National Secretary for AP for Zambia and Malawi
For immediate release and circulation to the media
Dear all, In the event of the unfortunate happenings in Livingstone, find here forwarded to you the attached statement. We hope to issue a stronger statement after getting some informed feedback from our staff who are currently on the ground and analysing issues behind the violent incidents which clearly do not auger well for our young and growing democracy. With many prayers and kind regards in this holy season of Lent. Let us therefore continue to pray for our country. At the same time, let us all unite in praying for the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, who will freely renounce and leave the Petrine Office today for the greater good of the Church he truly loves. How one wishes that the same humility, prudence, wisdom and strength of character could be imbued in our political leaders who are unfortunately thriving on fighting for and trying to keep the instruments of power at the expense of the common good. Fr. Cleophas Lungu (Secretary General – ZEC) Political Violence in Livingstone parliamentary by-election, ZambiaPRESS STATEMENT from Three Church Mother Bodies of Zambia
“Happy are the peacemakers: they shall be called children of God” (Mt 5:9) We, the Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ), the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ), and the Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC), are extremely disturbed and greatly saddened by the violence and loss of precious life in the heat of the recent campaigns for the Livingstone parliamentary by-election. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family of the deceased and all victims of violence. At the same time, we condemn in the strongest terms possible, any form political and electoral violence. We further wish to appeal for calm and maximum restraint from the various political parties in Livingstone and also from the Zambia Police Service. It is incumbent on all of us not to do or say anything that might worsen an already volatile situation. This is not the time for finger-pointing. What is needed now is for all stakeholders to do some serious soul-searching: Is this the level our politics has come to? Is this the path we want to pursue in our democratic dispensation? Let us then commit this great nation to prayer. And may God bless us all! Issued on 27th February, 2013 in Lusaka by the undersigned; Rev. Suzanne Matale(General Secretary – CCZ) Rev. Pukuta N. Mwanza (Executive Director – EFZ) Fr. Cleophas Lungu (Secretary General – ZEC)
Words of thanks from Jean-Bosco Masaba
Dear Serge and all the confreres of Zambia.
Thanks for all what you have done for me, especially for helping me throughout my medical needs.
Thanks to the community of Mwapona Road for your warm welcome. “I was feeling good at home!”
Thanks again to all the confreres and stagiaires of Zambia. I am keeping good memories of all of you.
Thanks to the community of Kabwata, FENZA and Misisi.
Thanks also for my short stay in Kitwe. The confreres are very kind. Thanks for your availability.
Thanks to all of your who have prayed for me and sent messages through the blog and e-mails.
How can I thank you? I say: “Twatotela and twatasha”.
Ps: I came to Lubumbashi without problem. Only that I am feeling pain on my leg. I have stated some treatments. It will be OK!
Thanks Mingi, Jean-Bosco Masaba
Message de Jean-Bosco Masaba
Cher Serge et tous les confrères du secteur de la Zambie.
Merci beaucoup pour ce que vous avez fait pour moi, particulièrement pour les soins médicaux.
Merci à toute la communauté de la rue Mwapoma pour votre sens de l’accueil. “J’étais très très bien chez nous”.
Merci à tous les confrères et stagiaires du secteur Zambie. Je garde un bon souvenir de vous tous.
Merci à la communauté de Kabwata, de FENZA et de Misisi.
Merci encore pour le séjour que nous avons eu à Kitwe chez les confrères. Ils sont bien gentils et merci pour leur disponibilité.
Merci aux confrères qui m’ont soutenu par leurs prières et messages envoyés sur le blogue et par courriel.
Comment vous dire merci? Je vous dis : “Twatotela et twatasha”.
Ps: Je suis bien arrivé à Lubumbashi: il y a juste la jambe qui continue à me faire mal. J’ai commencé avec la kiné. Ça ira!
Merci Mingi, Jean-Bosco Masaba
Lilongwe, Malawi (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Bishops of Malawi have expressed gratitude for the solution to a serious two week tug of war between the government and civil servants demanding a 67% pay rise. Protests caused serious social disruption. The authorities have agreed on a 61% per cent increase to the lowest salaries and 5% to the highest ones.
In a statement sent to Fides by the Bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace, the Catholic Church in Malawi, tracing the roots of the trade union crisis, takes a position regarding the economic crisis which has afflicted the country for some time. The statement says the decision to devaluate Malawi Kwacha and continued floatation and the linkage of the fuel prices to the global market prices leading to automatic fuel price adjustments is worsening the economic situation of the people.
The Commission also criticises certain economic moves of the government such as the decision to privilege some investments over others.
These economic measures, say “Justice and Peace” have created a serious social fracture. “Malawi is seriously entrenching a two-tier society with over 80% of the population struggling to survive and depending on poor, over-stretched and quality-compromised public service delivery; while the 20% are affording privatized education, health and security services.” the statement affirms “This 20% of the population that is able is creating a section of passive and irresponsive citizenry that has become silent to the plight and cries of the majority poor”. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 25/2/2013)