Abstract:
Malawi is the home to the Chongoni Rock-Art
collection, a world heritage site. The collection dates back to the BaTwa
people who inhabited the area in the Iron Age. The collection of hieroglyphics
is extensive and currently protected in the Congoni Forest Reserve. It is also
a sacred ritual site for the Nyau religion.
The Unwritten History of Malawi
The Chongoni Rock-Art collection in Malawi is one of the
World Heritage sites. The collection contains over 170 rocks with ancient
paintings. The paintings date back to the time of the BaTwa people. The BaTwa
lived in Central Malawi and are the ancestors of the modern-day Chewa people. The
paintings tell about the history of the people group. According to the artwork,
the BaTwa began as hunter-gatherers, and the community evolved into a food
producing society. The artwork also marks the initiation ceremonies which were
an important part of their religious traditions.
Today the Nyau people use the site to conduct initiations
for young women into adulthood. In the ceremonies, the men dress in traditional
masks. The Nyau religion believes in seeking out communication with the dead.
While the men are masked, they are pretending to be spirits who can act as they
please. At times participants have died at such events at the hand of masked “spirits.”
Paintings were also added to the rocks to mark funerals and rain making.
The Congoni Rock-Art collection is protested by the Monument
and Relics Act of 1990. It in located within the Congoni Forest Reserve. Some
of the challenges in maintaining the collection include insufficient staff to
care for and protect the area from intruders. There also has been some water
and graffiti damage.
Hieroglyphics such as these have preserved the history and
culture of people group without a language for hundreds of years. Sometimes,
these pieces or art can reveal more about the people who created them than a
written document. The shapes, colors, ink, location, number all give historians
insight into this ancient civilization.
Centre, UNESCO World Heritage.
"Chongoni Rock-Art Area." - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed
November 04, 2016. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/476.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteWow, you are from Malawi! I have a missionary friend who has been there eleven times to train pastors in evangelism. This course has allowed me to learn some about what he has experienced. I hope to go serve there one day and possibly take some students of my youth group. .
I also blogged about the Chongoni Rock-Art world heritage sight. Your blog is well written and I found further information that I did not locate when I researched this important unwritten history. You cite 170 ancient paintings, whereas my sources claimed 127. This weeks lectures have stressed the spiritual element of such paintings as they were used for various ceremonies and religious traditions of the BaTwa and later the Chewa people.
Blessings!