the chewa are a remnant of the maravi people — the great empire of central africa whose territory at its height in the seventeenth century stretched across much of what is now malawi, tete province of mozambique, and eastern province of zambia. the chewa, nyanja, nsenga, tumbuka, and mang'anja are all peoples of the maravi world — sharing common origins, related languages, and the cultural legacy of the empire.

the two great chewa clans: the phiri, associated with kings and aristocracy, and the banda, associated with healers and mystics. the paramount king today: kalonga gawa undi — whose royal headquarters is in katete district, eastern province, zambia, with authority stretching across malawi, zambia, and mozambique. the kulamba ceremony — held every august at mkaika village in katete — brings chewa from all three countries to the zambian headquarters of a kingdom that colonial boundaries divided but did not destroy.

the nyau secret society. nyau is a spiritual brotherhood of initiated men rooted in the maravi empire's seventeenth century. since 2005, the gule wamkulu — the great dance of the nyau — has been recognised by UNESCO as one of the masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage of humanity.

the gule wamkulu — the great dance. the masks represent animals and ancestral spirits: crocodiles, lions, dogs, and named spirit characters carrying moral and social messages. the masked men are considered zirombo — animals or spirits — rather than human performers. when they approach, people traditionally hide, kneel, and place money on the ground.

a cave painting depicting a nyau mask may date to 992 CE — more than a thousand years old. the gule wamkulu survived portuguese missionaries, british colonial administration, and christian churches' efforts to abolish it. it survived because the community that carries it knew it was worth surviving.

the three-country kingdom with its seat in katete. the UNESCO-recognised dance. the secret society whose masks have been described since the tenth century.

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