University of Stellenbosch HIV/AIDS ALIENATION: BETWEEN PREJUDICE AND ACCEPTANCE Chapter 4 Malawian Cultural Practices that Promote the Spread of HIV/AIDS JANET L. BROWN Dissertation presented for the Degree of Doctor of Theology At the University of Stellenbosch Promoter: Professor H. JURGENS HENDRIKS April 2004 Chapter 4 Malawian Cultural Practices That Promote the Spread of HIV/AIDS 109 4.1 INTRODUCTION: 109 4.2 CHEWA CULTURE 113 4.3 THE FAMILY UNIT 114 4.4 VILLAGE TRADITIONS 116 4.4.1 Village Traditions - Matrilineal 116 4.4.2 Village Traditions - Night Dances 117 4.4.3 Village Traditions - Weddings and Funerals 118 4.4.4 Village Traditions - Traditional Medicine 118 4.5 INITIATION PRACTICES 120 4.6 GOWELO 124 4.7 COUSINS 125 4.8 ARRANGED MARRIAGES 125 4.9 SITTING-IN-HUSBAND 125 4.10 MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS 126 4.11 CHOKOLO 128 4.12 GENDER ISSUES 129 4.13 POVERTY 130 4.14 DENIAL 132 4.15 THE WORKFORCE IS DYING 133 4.16 URBAN CULTURAL CHALLENGES 135 4.17 CONCLUSION 138 Chapter 4 Malawian Cultural Practices That Promote the Spread of HIV/AIDS 4.1 INTRODUCTION: The problems associated with an improper hermeneutic of God's intention towards those suffering with HIV/AIDS addressed in this paper: those of alienation, estrangement and prejudice (5.4), as experienced by those who are either infected or affected by the disease, in relation to the response of the local faith communities dealing with these issues, have now been examined in several ways. After identifying the problem in chapter one, the broader perspectives regarding the historical ecclesiastical context within the church as it began its response to the pandemic of HIV/AIDS was examined in chapter two. The scope was narrowed further as chapter three began looking at the AIDS related issues affecting the African church, therefore affecting the methodology of the African faith communities as they addressed the issues surrounding this crisis. This chapter will now narrow the focus further with the intention of examining some of the specific traditional practices and patterns that contribute to the current HIV/AIDS crisis in Malawi, primarily within the Chewa culture, along with some assessment of the neighbouring tribal customs. These customs are significant due to the influence they impose on the Chewa culture. This is particularly true in the urban areas, where individuals of all tribes gather and intermix with a continuation of their tribal heritage and customs, but the influence of other tribes can be noted as well. Since this is the case in the Lilongwe area where a good portion of this study takes place, this phenomenon is worth examining at this point. One of the most notable treasures of the African continent is the rich cultural heritage displayed in the vast tribal practices, which are deeply ingrained in the people of Africa. Each tribe has its own set of rules and regulations that have served over the years and even centuries to provide standards of living and actions which have been passed down from generation to generation. Although this research cannot begin to be an exhaustive account of African traditions, those particular traditions that have impacted the HIV/AIDS crisis will be examined in light of how they relate to the identified problem, seeking to provide comprehensive understanding regarding the reasons why the pandemic of HIV/AIDS has exploded in Africa. This exploration will also seek to give some explanation as to the difficulty experienced by the church as it has sought to make inroads penetrating into the heart of the issue. There are African cultural distinctiveness which are practiced over most, if not all of the Sub-Saharan African continent, several of which were discussed in chapter three. Many, if not most of these practices were initially begun as a result of some factor or threat perceived by those who originally started them. For example, the practice of Chokolo (4.11), which will be explained later, certainly began with benevolent purposes as the people sought a way to provide for the unfortunate widows in their community. As with many customs, variations developed through the years as various clans separated from one another. This lead to an eventual evolution of the original custom allowing a natural progression of the practice to change slightly from group to group until various clans saw their version of the practice as being the right and proper way of doing things. Although this has contributed to the development of subtle differences from clan to clan, overall there are many similarities between the customs in each tribe. So much similarity has been maintained that despite the slight differences, the ethnicity for each tribe can be described in a general and acceptable way. In Malawi, there are eleven primary tribes and languages1, and although each has its own special set of tribal customs and practices, there is much overlapping between them. The Chewa tribe is by far the largest and most influential of all the tribes in Malawi, with Chichewa, along with English, being the official language of the nation. Making up approximately fifty percent of the population, the Chewa people and their cultural practices are deeply felt in all areas of Malawi, but particularly in the Central Region where the research for this dissertation is taking place. Because of this, it will primarily be the Chewa culture that is discussed, with consideration to the other tribal practices that have been influenced by the Chewa culture due to the moderate mixing that occurs in a cosmopolitan setting. Coming from the 'melting pot' of a Western cultural setting (1.5), it is often difficult to fully understand the depth which these customs and cultures are ingrained in the tribal peoples of Africa. Although they are diminishing in their grip on the individuals who have broken free of the traditional village setting and have moved into the urban areas where many people of differing practices live in close proximity to one another, even in these city dwellers the culture affects the fibre of their being. African customs and traditions do not only play a major part in the formation and development of a child as he or she grows into adulthood, they also make up the very character of the world view that individual will develop which colours the understanding that person will have about all aspects of life. A person cannot divorce himself from his cultural heritage without destroying a major portion of his identity as an individual. Because of the way the culture is interwoven into every aspect of life, change comes slowly. Even when practices are obviously no longer useful and may even prove dangerous, it is difficult to remove them from the group's practice because of the significance they have in other parts of their life. An example of this might be seen in the use of amulets. Even when converted to Christianity and the concept of a sovereign God to interact in every aspect of life, many 'Christian' Malawians continue to wear them or provide them for their children to wear. Nervi (1994:68) explains this as a practice that begins in infancy, as a Malawian mother will, Around its waist [the infant's] she ties a string of amulets, making sure that they are placed near the bodily openings which are regarded as the 'doors' by which the spirits enter his body. Protective charms are seen as essential for guarding the child from the 'evil eye' and from certain diseases. If the child is a girl, the mother adds to her waist some colourful little beads to ensure fertility. This researcher once noticed one of the students at African Bible College wearing these colourful little beads under her clothing. When asked about it she said it was nothing, just something fun to do. Although this practice of wearing little colourful beads may be recognized as a harmless cultural practice, even in this student who was a 'strong' professing Christian, there was a certain amount of authenticity that was given to this practice. Along with the secreted credibility ascribed to it, there remained a certain amount of fear stemming from deep within, deeper than informed thought, at the very essence of her being which told her that this was something she must do. It must never be forgotten or taken lightly, that when one considers the cultural practices in Malawi, the fact that these observances are not just customs that are practiced but rather a way of life for each individual that define their identity and give them a sense of balance and purpose in their world. With these factors in mind, it is imperative to analyse the impact of these customs on Malawian society, and more specifically upon the church in Malawi and the resulting theological implications that arise which will be addressed in the succeeding chapter. This investigation can only be done with methodical analysis and evaluation leading to conclusive determinations for change, which will be described and developed in detail in the following chapters. Some of the customs that will be identified and examined include: adolescent initiation rites, marriage customs (including matrilineal customs and polygamy), and funeral customs such as Chokolo. In addition to these customs that deal intimately with the individual as a part of the family unit, this chapter will also address the more general issues of gender, poverty, urban challenges and loss of workforce; issues which are tied to the HIV/AIDS phenomenon in either direct or indirect ways. Before entering into the descriptions of the various practices, it must be noted that it is admittedly the negative side of the culture, which is being emphasized in this chapter. The reader must realize that there are many positive cultural practices in the Chewa and surrounding tribal cultures that serve to promote positive values adding dimension to the congregation's ministry and mission. Although it is beyond the scope of this research to present all of the positive influences in the African culture, the following example is presented at this point for illustration. One such practice was observed by this researcher at an engagement celebration. The primary uncle from each the bride and groom's families came forward and began pulling a cooked chicken apart. As they did so, they made the following exclamations: As one would pull of a wing, he would emphatically state to the watching crowd, 'when these young people have trouble, they will fly to me to advise them'. The other uncle would then pull off a leg and say even louder to the crowd, 'when they have trouble, they will run to me to help them!' They would continue these pronouncements to the delight of the people in attendance until the entire chicken was pulled apart. They would also involve the people by charging them to watch over the young could and help whenever they could because they (the uncles) would not live for ever, but the couple would continue to need the watch care of those who wanted to help them succeed. This is only one of many positive cultural practices that provide identity and meaning into the lives of the Chewa people. It has been added at this point to offer a token of balance to the following description of the culture's negative side, which will now be presented in this chapter. No attempt will be made to give a balanced report since the purpose of this section is to reveal cultural practices that contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS. Using criteria such as this ensures that all of the practices described will be naturally negative. 4.2 CHEWA CULTURE As stated, of the eleven tribes found in Malawi, the most prominent and largest is the Chewa. Due to the close proximity of the various tribes, there is naturally some overlapping of customs between the Chewa and the neighbouring but prominent tribe of the Tumbuka in the northern part of Malawi, along with some of the smaller tribes such as the Tonga, Ngoni, Lomwe, Lambya, Mang'anja, Nkhonde, and the Yao in the southern region. The Chewa tribe goes beyond the national borders into surrounding countries such as Mozambique and Zambia. Rich in its ancestral heritage, the Chewa have many customs and traditions rendering them unique amongst other African tribes. Extensive efforts were made to qualify and authenticate the following information regarding tribal practices. Sophomore students at African Bible College were given an essay assignment 20 November 2002 in which they were to describe tribal and traditional practices that promote the spread of HIV/AIDS in their own particular tribe. Their contributions to this dissertation are noted as 'student quote' and then the individual student's name is indicated. The integrity of these students as they presented this material is not under any suspicion, as they were under no pressure to provide information, which might have caused them to embellish or exaggerate the claims they made in their reports (in other words, there was no promise or insinuation made that their grade or acceptance would be in any way affected by the content of the traditions described). Since most of the students were of the same tribal heritage, the phenomenon of constructive replication was noted as students repeatedly described the same customs practiced within their tribal heritage. The quotes used in this paper are representative of many repetitions that were found in their reports. This researcher simply selected the quotes that were worded or expressed in such a way as to best represent the concept being described. Much of the information in this chapter was taken from a book by Luciano Nervi, Malawi, flames in the African Sky. Nervi was a missionary to Malawi for six-teen years. In addition to these facts, most of the customs described were already familiar to this researcher from experiences and information received first-hand from actual experiences of living in Malawi and working with the students of African Bible College and the people of the villages, as well as other missionary experiences shared with this researcher during the six years of living in this country. In addition to these measures to assure accuracy, as an additional safeguard, this material was also read and critiqued by Mrs. Grace Banda (Appendix B) who is a native Malawian and can therefore be considered as an expert witness of Chewa (and other Malawian Central Region tribes) culture. 4.3 THE FAMILY UNIT As with most African societies, the family is the basic nucleus of society. To gain even a rudimentary understanding of Malawian culture, one must understand the importance of the family. The term 'family' is much broader in the African sense than the way a Westerner might define it2. Rather than being comprised of the immediate members, father, mother and children, the African family includes the extended family, with uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins included. Because of the communal nature of the family, there is no word in Chichewa for cousins, with all children who are born for relatives being considered as brothers and sisters. Imasogie clarifies this point in his description of this trait (1993:76): In human relationships the blood tie is so strong that everybody who can be identified with a particular clan is regarded as a 'brother' or a 'sister' to other members of the clan and must be treated accordingly. For this reason there is hardly any African ethnic language that distinguishes between the term 'brother' and 'cousin' as we have in other languages such as English. The only word that refers to blood relationships is 'brother' or 'sister' as the case may be. This system works as a benefit for those in this society who might otherwise fall through the cracks of the normal family structure. This can easily be seen when considering the plight of orphans, where (in Africa alone) more than 9 million children under age of 15 have been left without a mother and father because of HIV/AIDS (Stearns 2001:100). Because of the inclusive and empathetic way of life among traditional Africans, orphans and problem children are drawn into society, and absorbed into other families. In this way they are cared for, nurtured, given love and develop as full and active members of the community. Everyone becomes the mother, father, brother or sister of these children (Boon 1996:34). The problem comes when this overwhelmed cultural system can no longer absorb and care for the massive numbers of orphans. This is poignantly illustrated in this excerpt from an article describing the loss suffered in one family from AIDS, Caring for orphaned children brought new complications... Imboela was orphaned as an infant. The boy lived with his grandparents until they both died [of AIDS]. Then Imboela lived with two uncles and one aunt, all of whom are now dead. At age 10, Imboela has known nothing but loss (Morgan 2000:42) The family within the village setting is very strong and the bonds and duties of each member interplay with each other. 'The entire family, which includes married brothers and cousins, is involved in all relationships. In real terms, marriage is a contract between two families and not two individuals as in the Western way. Because of this, the family remains involved in the individual couple's relationship. Everything is everyone's business, so it is practically impossible for problems to build up to a critical point where, for example, a family murder occurs, without the extended family being aware of and diffusing the danger' (Boon 1996:34). This concept of mutual accountability helps to keep the Malawian family ties close and works to ensure a continuing level of answerability as each member's behaviour is evaluated by the rest. The ethic and interaction that occurs in the extended family comes from the concept of Ubuntu. Ubuntu describes the heritage of philosophy dealing with the interrelationships within the African culture regarding morality, humaneness, compassion, care, understanding and empathy (5.4.1). Ubuntu is best described through the expression: Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (Zulu), Motho ke motho ka batho (Sotho), Umundu nimudu niunde wa andu (Kikuyu), Munhu munhu pamusana pevanhu (Shona). All of these mean: A person is only a person because of other people (Boone 1996:31, 32). The hierarchy of allegiance extends to the extended family or clan, above the loyalty to the immediate family. Even though they may be happy together and have children, the husband and wife continue to belong to two different family units to which they are tied by rights and duties even more important than those acquired through marriage. In other words, the couple and their children do not exist as an independent unit. The most important products of their union - the children, do not belong to them but to the respective family clans according to the kinship system they belong to (Nervi 1994:64). Even though the immediate family may move far away from the clan, it is expected that their first allegiance will be to the clan. To illustrate this point, it has been observed among Malawian students at African Bible College, that when they have opportunity to share their testimony with the entire student body, they begin introducing themselves by describing their family identification, indicating what place they are in the family, how many brothers and sisters, etc. They then follow this by giving the name and location of their home village, when in all probability; their family has not actually lived in that village for many years. In Malawian culture, the individual is eternally tied to his or her respective village. For instance, if one of our ABC students were to go back to their home village, they would be given property as their right of inheritance. If they decided to join a village that is not their ancestral home, they would seek permission from the Chief in order to buy property. 4.4 VILLAGE TRADITIONS 4.4.1 Village Traditions - Matrilineal Chewa are matrilineal, called mbumba, which means that the children remain the property of the wife's ancestral clan and the biological father has no real authority or rights of fatherhood in their lives. Avunculate (the exercise of domestic authority by the wife's brother) (Phiri 1998:130) is practiced, whereby the mother's brother becomes the guardian or nkhoswe (:138), and actually exercises more control and responsibility over a woman's children than their natural father does. The woman will also be the one by whom the land ownership passes, even though the actual control of it is handled by a man, usually her elder brother or maternal uncle. This tradition dictates that when a man and woman marry, they will move to the woman's village where he will then enter her clan (uxorilocality), since she is the property owner and not the man. Even though they may be happily together and have children the husband and wife continue to belong to two different family units to which they are tied by rights and duties even more important than those acquired through marriage. In other words, they do not exist as an independent unit.... [For example, if the husband] were to undertake any commercial enterprise, such as simply buying a goat, he will do it within his own mbumba, and not in his wife's village from which he can be dismissed at any time. At his wife's death, he will have to leave the place where he has spent his whole married life, carrying with him only his sleeping mat (Nervi 1994:64-5). The family was for the most part dependent on the larger social unit to which it was affiliated, the matrilineage, which embraced most of the woman's relatives. In fact, it was the matrilineage that defined the rights and obligations of the individual family or household, gave it its sense of belonging, provide it with both social and material security, and defined its status within the larger community (Phiri 1982:259). 4.4.2 Village Traditions - Night Dances Night dances are common and typical entertainment for most of the tribes in Malawi. There are several purposes for these dances, many having to do with sharing of ones heritage and traditions, but they also can provide a breeding ground for high-risk behaviour. 'Young ladies and men gather together to compete for a dance. Most of these young men and women are not independent at this time but are under the guidance of their parents. This dance is called Manganje (Chewa). They are allowed even to travel long distances to other villages just to compete for a dance, and as a result when they are going back to their village, they turn to give their bodies up to each other since it is night and they know that their parents are not with them. Sometimes ladies also, look for the guy who has been a star that night. A guy who has performed well so that they can go out with him. This star wants to prove that he is a star also so he proposes to more ladies. The ladies do not turn down the offer but accept to the so called star. As a result the star will have multiple ladies and he will not mind about who he sleeps with, as long as he knows he is the star.' (Student quote - Maria Theresa Makhalira)3 4.4.3 Village Traditions - Weddings and Funerals Weddings and funerals can also be a time when unguarded sexual activity takes place in some tribal customs. Among the Lambya and Ngonde tribes, for instance, it is customary for people to 'spend (three to five) nights at the funeral place or house. Some women and men don't just go for the funeral but they feel that it is the right time for them to go around with other people's wives or husbands. Magolowazi (Tumbuka, but also common in others as well) is a marriage ceremony, which takes about three days to celebrate. 'They start with the first day where relatives and friends of the bride takes it as their day. The second day for those related to the bridegroom while they join together on the third day. But Magolowazi is what people do during the evenings of these three days. Some people go to sleep while there are some who continue with the dancing and giving out money but those who go to sleep pay some money as well. What differs most is that a lot of the young boys and girls find this as an opportunity to meet and know each other. What happens is that boys who want to dance with any girl first give out some money to the cashier in charge that night and then that boy goes to that girl to dance with him....The fact that the boys give some money to the ladies in order to dance with her is like the boy usually says, 'I have paid for this', and they take this as an opportunity to do anything they want with the girls.' (Student quote - Maria Mahowe) 4.4.4 Village Traditions - Traditional Medicine The traditional medicine, with the herbologists and witchdoctors, contribute to more difficulties in Malawian culture than just malpractice of medical care. They have a powerful hold on the thoughts and ideas of many people due to their 'supernatural powers' and influence. ...everything in the universe is seen as a potential vehicle for divine revelation and mediation.... Even herbs are said to be capable of being incarnated by spiritual forces for the purpose of revealing their therapeutic potency to the herbalist in the service of mankind. In the same way, the seers, priests and diviners are believed to be able to enter a state of spirit-possession during which they become mediums for divine revelation. Dreams are also interpreted as a divine method of unravelling the mysteries of life to those who are specially tuned into spiritual realities (Imasogie 1993:77). Witchdoctors and the like are often aligned against medical practices, which have been proven (usually considered 'Western' practices) to be more reliable in treating various health situations, and Christian practices and beliefs (3.3). In addition to the attack on the family and focal units of society, Christians are being called upon to forsake traditional healers and witchdoctors as they are tied to occultic practices, yet many find there is no opportunity for other medicinal treatments available to them. Western clinics are few and far between, and the treatments available may be far above their financial resources even if they are available. Many times Western medicine lacks the comprehensiveness (spiritual/psychological/emotional) of the traditional medicine and therefore the recipients lack the sense of fulfilment received when they believe the witchdoctor has isolated the spiritual component of the disease that threatens them. Being able to 'intellectualise' the purposes of Western medicinal means, does not always take away the deeply ingrained 'gut' fears and sense of wonder that accompanies the magical powers of traditional practices. This phenomena is more accurately described by Osadolor Imasogie's discussion of the failure of the typical African Christian to fully rely on Jesus Christ in times of crisis (Imasogie 1993:69,77): Given the technological superiority of the missionary, many Africans, though only on a superficial level, did what they were told to do. But deep down in the subconscious dimension of their beings, their cultural conditioning remained intact to determine their behaviour in moments of life-problems....Consequently, many African Christians perceived the 'God' of Christianity as a 'stranger-God,', the god of the white man, who is unfamiliar with the local spiritual problems....Thus,...the first reaction of many African Christians is to gravitate towards the traditional religious methods for coping with such a crisis...In the face of such crises he naturally reverts to traditional religious practices to establish metaphysical security. Many Christian Malawians sport the rows of tiny cuts, approximately .5cm neatly placed in lines looking like small rows of railroad ties, indicating treatment from various sorts of witchdoctors and traditional healers as they sought to find relief from the hardships plaguing them. It is from these very practices that many AIDS sufferers blame the source of their acquiring their disease. One tradition that is widely practiced in Malawi by the witchdoctors has to do with their influence over the people they are 'serving.' They (the witch-doctors) usually always lie to the patients that they will be healed if and only if they will have sex with them. Usually this happens to those who are barren or have some female problems. (Student quote - Chimwemwe Kumwenda) There is a belief that there are some witch-doctors in some villages that can cure AIDS, therefore some people still think that when they are affected they will go to such traditional African witch doctors for medications. . . Some in villages still believe that AIDS can be cured by pleading with ancestral spirits. (Student quote - Saidi Munyonga) 4.5 INITIATION PRACTICES As a child begins to reach puberty, they are exposed to the tribal initiation ceremonies. It is the initiation ceremony that gives the boys and girls the possibility to come to know deeply the traditions and customs of their tribe and culture. Only by means of initiation can they become official members of the kinship group. Those who have not been initiated are not considered to have reached adulthood (Nervi 1994:70). Although individuals vary in their descriptions of these ceremonies (probably because villages have altered the customs to accommodate their individual village needs), there are several common threads that are part of each one's interpretation of the events that take place for initiation into adulthood. For the Chewa, initiation involves the affiliation to a male secret society known as the Nyau, sometimes referred to as the Gule Wa mkulu after its most famous dance. This traditional dance has the place of religion in many of their lives. The place where they meet is called the dambwe, which is usually located in the local graveyard. I understand they have about three women who are called the 'owners of the dambwe' and when the young men / boys are joining the Nyau, as part of their initiation they are supposed to have sexual relations with all three women. (Student quote - Tapiwa Chakwera) This affiliation to the Nyau begins with terror. The boy is stripped naked, beaten with canes, forced to drink strange and fetid medicines (perhaps containing excrement and urine), and finally, to swallow the raw and dirty bowels of a chicken. It is the elders who exact all this, with the intent of making the young candidate lose any sense of decency or shame. Then they reveal to him, under strict secrecy the history of the organization and its commandments. Meanwhile, they teach him how to make the mask that he will wear for the dances and how to perform the particular dance of the mask that he is wearing. He is taught secret passwords, which will enable him to move about, unchallenged in order to enter the villages, naked at night, to steal chickens.... At the time of Gule Wa mkulu, the Nyau may steal, inflict violence on women and on property, and, in general turn the rules of normal society upside down. This is possible because of the fear they spread among the people and the immunity of anonymity (Nervi 1994:70-71). To dance Nyau was to stand out against the White Fathers and the Dutch Reformed Church, who were making a concerted effort to suppress the Nyau in the Central Region of [Malawi]...To dance Nyau was to support traditional society and to show respect for the elders. It was to be Chewa. Participant in Nyau and the defiant continuance of initiation rites produced a sense of Chewa identity (Linden 1975:33). Many times young men from Christian families are also forced to participate in these initiation ceremonies. One Christian man (Peter Banda) shared with this writer that as an adolescent boy, his parents required that he undergo the initiations rites for his own protection. He explained that while walking along a path, if he were to encounter a Gule Wa mkulu, he would be expected to respond appropriately with the proper secret greetings and responses. If he were unable to do so, he would be beaten. Because of this very real and physical threat, many boys from Christian families continue to be initiated into this practice. Following these initiation ceremonies, Young men (in the Lomwe Tribe) are advised to sleep with a girl to prove that they are men soon after they get out. If they don't they are cheated that when they take a bath even when they take body oil they will not look handsome. (Student quote - Leisten Ew Nashire) Initiation practices are not limited to males. Young Malawian girls also experience a 'right of passage' process designed specifically for them: When a young girl reaches puberty her parents, in particular, her 'aunt' (Phungu), will go to the chief with a white chicken and tell him that their daughter is mature.' (Student quote - Noel Mbuka) Thereafter the Chief begins to prepare the 'Chinamwali' ceremony. The initiation of girls is divided into various stages corresponding to their physical development....When she reaches her first menses, thus begins the girl's first private initiation. She will be taken, often with other girls who are also at this stage of development, for the four or five days during which she remains inside the house (this period of time can be up to a month in some tribes such as the Mang'anja)... 'elderly women are called upon to play a role in upbringing and rescuing this girl for fear of her being misled by friends and /or others of ill will.' (Student quote - Rebium Manyuna) On the last day of the initiation the hair of the girl (this includes the hair on the head as well as the pubic areas) is completely shaved off, and the following night she is made to have sexual intercourse with a man known as fisi (this means hyena, because he comes secretly at night) who has been hired for the purpose (Nervi 1994:72). Depending upon the custom of the local village, the fisi will either be a married man from that village or possibly the chief himself. This final part of the initiation ceremony follows a time of Gule Wa mkulu dancing and celebration where songs are sung with sexual implications, ...the aim of the masked dancers is to remove from the girls the fear of the male sexual organ. The chief is also (depending on the custom of the local village, it may be another man who is chosen for this role of fisi) given the role of opening the womb of the young girls. (Student quote - Shadreck Chikoti) He will be paid for his services with a cock or other reward. This is done in secret, with the man disguising himself to prevent recognition, and the girl is not supposed to know who will be coming to have sexual intercourse with her. For the man involved, it is considered an honour to be the man who is chosen to assume this role. Usually the girls are very excited and looking forward to this adventure, and also look forward to having more sex once they 'graduate' to prove their womanhood. (Student quote - Shadreck Chikoti). The girls are told that they must pass this 'test' as a preparation for their future house. Some of the girls who experience this custom, ...find it so enjoyable they become sex addicts who can thereafter start inducing and seducing their opposite age-mates to go and have sex with them. Such types of sex addicted girls do not consider this as prostitution but rather 'Gift Sex' as popularly acknowledged by some men. (Student quote - Noel Mbuka) When the initiation instructors redo the floor of the hut with a new layer of mud, the family of the girl knows that their daughter has become a woman. Students have shared with this researcher that 'there are some beliefs, like after girl or boy initiation ceremonies, they require the graduates [of the initiation] to engage into some sexual experience where a strange man is arranged to sleep with a girl graduate in a secluded house or a boy graduate is in some cases encouraged to rape a girl in order to 'remove dust' ('Kusasa Fumbi') i.e. to shake off his inexperience in sex by actually doing it. In most cases such acts are not deemed rape, but part of the culture. 'They are warned (in the Mang'anja tribe) that if they fail to have sex with any girls, their skill will start to moult and finally they will die.' (Student quote - Sullivan Kenneth Kandulu) This is done, ...in order to prove that they know what is expected of them from that time onwards. The boy or girl has no say in who these elderly people are and literally the boy or girl will just accept what is imposed on them (Banda 2002:1). Some traditional teachers encourage the girls to sleep with their boyfriends so as to have a feel of sex. (Student quote - Harold Chiuza) In addition to teaching these girls about sexual issues and how to 'treat a man', there are some things taught during these sessions which have a positive value. The girls are taught by the older women, the agogo, about other areas in life such as cooking, raising children and keeping a home. A similar tradition is practiced by the Yao tribe called Ndakula. In her informative article (Phiri 1998:129-45) describing the female initiation rites amongst the Chewa from a personal as well as an objective research standpoint, Isabel Phiri's testimony give evidence to the accuracy of these students accounts regarding these traditional practices. She identifies four main areas of traditional initiation rites in the life of a female Chewa child, (1) Anakungwi, which is the time of private teaching initiated by the first menses, to be followed by the group teaching with other girls; (2) the second initiation comes just prior to marriage, which emphasized techniques for pleasing her future husband: Submission in every way to her husband was taken seriously. The girl was told never to argue with her husband and to treat him like a king, (3) following marriage the newlyweds were instructed together by the Nankungwi on how to conduct themselves as a married couple; (4) the first pregnancy called for the chinamwali cha Chisamba ceremony which dealt mainly with how a husband and wife were to relate to each other during the pregnancy and how they were to look after the children. So important were these ceremonies that in the olden days, mothers who did not include their daughters in such initiation ceremonies were punished. Children born of a mother who had not been initiated were buried alive. With punishments this severe, it can easily be assumed that women would seek out such initiation rites if for no other reason than to protect their children and save themselves from embarrassment and humiliation (Phiri 1998:134). Parents make everything possible for their daughters not to miss this kind of initiation because they believe that if she misses this, she will not make a good wife when she gets married. (Student quote - Mirriam Mkuka) 4.6 GOWELO Gowelo is a traditional cultural practice, which can also contribute to the practice of high-risk behaviour amongst teenagers. Once children begin to mature and reach puberty, it is no longer considered appropriate for them to sleep in the same house with the parents. Gowelo are houses made for young people, in an effort to show respect for their parents. Girls and boys are separated and have their own communal houses, but since these houses are situated away from their parent's house they are no longer under their direct influence. The original design was to provide adolescents with a place to grow and develop without infringing on the privacy of their parents now that they are aware of sexual relationships. Often the reality is in fact a newfound freedom among these teenagers to explore their own relationships with the opposite sex without any parental accountability. Added to the inherent danger of an environment free of accountability and supervision is the fact that in addition to the natural hormonal surges present at this age of development, these adolescent children have just been introduced to sexual experiences from the initiation process, with clear instruction that they are now adults, and ready for such relationships. 4.7 COUSINS Chisuweni is the practice of considering cousins (offspring of the parents siblings) as spouses. Whatever they do as regards to sex is not questioned for it is their right as asuweni to treat one another as husband and wife. The parents do not say anything, and in fact they encourage such behaviour (Banda 2002:2). Children have been encouraged to marry their asuweni as such marriages were seen as factors that strengthened the villages and kept them together. 4.8 ARRANGED MARRIAGES Many of the traditional cultural patterns continue to have a stronghold in Malawi's rural areas, but have diminished in their importance in the more urban areas. This is due to increased exposure to Western ideas and attitudes. One of the older customs involves the selection of marriage partners by the family of the child in question. Families considered it favourable to make such arrangements in order to keep order among the youth and prevent riotous living. The families think it wise to find spouses for their children... They always call the boy to come and talk to the uncle of the girl then his uncle comes to make the wedding arrangements. The girl is given a few minutes to chat with the boy to know each other although this is not enough. The girl cannot say no as the final decision is made by the uncle. (Student quote - Mirriam Mkuka) 4.9 SITTING-IN-HUSBAND If a couple has been married for one or more years without conception of a child, a man who has proven his fertility by fathering children with other women will be chosen to 'sit in' for the marital husband. This is done in hopes of providing offspring with the assumption that there is a problem with the reproductive capabilities of the husband. It can be arranged in several ways, depending upon the individuals involved and the actual village practice. Often the husband arranges it, and he then makes plans to be gone from his home for the evening. (This same practice is called 'Kuvwira Kuuska Nyumba' in the Tumbuka culture, where it is usually arranged without the knowledge of the husband.) It is sometimes ...arranged by the elders in the village who are worried about the childless couple. They will meet together to discuss what to do, and then the couple will be consulted to find out any problem, which is delaying them in having children. Traditional medicine is given, and the couple is given a certain period to work the problem out. When the medicine fails, they discuss bringing another man into the house. (Student quote - Cecilia Kamwana) 'This is done under maximum secrecy between the real husband and the sitting-in-husband' (Student quote - Gilbert Madimbo). This step-in-husband is also called fisi because he comes secretly at night, as does the hyena. Supposedly, the wife will not be able to notice that it is not her husband who has come in during the night to have sex with her. When it is proved to be true that the husband is impotent the fisi business becomes habitual as long as the couple wants several children as it is believed that a family must have several children. This practice might involve several men, depending on the relationship between the husband and the fisi. Also, there may be some sort of exchanging of wives in compensation for the act. (Student quote - Gilbert Madimbo) Having children is a serious issue in many African countries and it is important in the Chewa culture as well. Most couples consider childbearing one of their first priorities, as it has the connotation of accompanying wealth. 4.10 MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIPS Polygamy is a common practice in Malawi. It is practiced for many reasons and is often seen as an indication of stature. Most headmen and chiefs are expected to have more than one wife as an indication of their importance in the community. The significance of this custom was that being a chief, he has many visitors and normally visitors are or must be entertained by the wives of the chief. (Student quote - Alex Kamowa) If a man chooses to have only one wife, he may be considered by others in the village community as being 'mean and selfish.' (Student quote - Chance Kalolokesya). There are other reasons why it is widely practiced as well. One of those reasons has to do with the quality of a man in his role as husband. If a family has a daughter who is married to a respectable man who is treating their daughter well, they might be inclined to give this man another daughter as a 'reward' as a token of their appreciation for this good behaviour towards their daughter. This is practiced as the 'Skazi' in the Ngoni Tribe and 'Mbiligha' in the Tumbuka and Ngonde tribes of the Northern regions as well. This has a dual purpose of providing a good husband for their second daughter while they hope to prevent him from marrying other women and bringing more wives into the family that they do not know. This practice is also practiced in the Nkhonde Tribe, particularly among the royal and wealthy families, without the benefit of a formal marriage agreement. Instead these women, who must be related to the wife, are considered more in the role of concubines. Another reason a man might seek an additional wife has to do with childbirth. It is widely accepted that following the birth of a child, a couple should refrain from sexual intercourse for at least one year. No one expects that a man should be required to refrain from sex during that time, so it is understandable that he should gain an additional wife to meet his needs (there doesn't seem to be any concern over meeting the sexual needs of the wife however). If the wife has only given birth to female children, the husband and wife may agree that he should marry another wife in order to gain a male heir. This can also be seen as a reasonable way for a man to continue fathering children once his wife is no longer of childbearing age. Men sometimes see polygamy as a powerful tool to control their wives and families. A man may want to marry more than one wife as a measure of disciplinary action towards them. If you are not very careful with me, I will marry another woman. (Student quote - Alpheus Banda) Such threats can be a warning to the wife to manipulate her behaviour and maintain the husband's sense of power in the home. Polygamy places many stress factors in the home, and on the wives involved in particular. It becomes very difficult for the polygamist to satisfy all his wives sexually as well as financially, therefore there are instances where by, one or some of the wives start relationships with other men in order to support her neglected (by the father) children and also to get sexually satisfied since she is ignored by her husband. (Student quote - Chance Kalolokesya) Infidelity on the part of the wife can also be done as an underlying effort of 'retaliation to their husband's behaviour' in response to the hurt and rejection she feels. (Student quote - Chance Kalolokesya) 4.11 CHOKOLO One dangerous practice in this culture that deals with the subservient attitude towards women is the practice of Chokolo, which is otherwise known as 'widow inheritance', practiced in many of the local tribes, including the Chewa, Tumbuka and Ngoni. Chokolo occurs when a widow is expected to marry any of the relatives of the dead man. The decision on who should marry her is made by the senior members of the family without the consent of the widow who has no choice in the matter. There were some advantages to this practice when it was initiated, as the widow and children may get some protection and provision as the new husband assumes responsibility for their well-being. This situation is usually less than optimal however, as the woman will be entering the family as a second or third wife with accompanied low status (Banda 2002:2). Although practiced in Malawi, Chokolo is common throughout Africa. For example, the Shona of Zimbabwe practice a very similar tradition with a subtle twist. The motivating factor for them is fear. They fear God the Creator Musiki and their ancestral spirits. If the young brother refused to marry the widow, there is a belief that he will be attacked by misfortune sent by their god the creator....The widower is to be given the youngsters of the deceased. The innocent young sister will come and stay with the husband of the deceased sister....They believe that all the sisters from that family will not be married unless one of the sisters commits herself to go and stay with the widower. (Zimbabwean student quote - Luxmore Mandevani) Unfortunately, there are times when caring concern for the remaining spouse is not the motivating factor at all, but greed is actually the driving force behind this action. If the wife is left with property or possessions, the deceased husband's brother may be looking at this practice as an opportunity to gain wealth. His greed clouds his judgment so that he acts without considering what caused his brother's death, and whether or not it might infect him if he marries the remaining spouse. This custom, which probably originated as a benevolent idea to come to the aid and assistance of those newly widowed who would have no way to care for their dependent families has much more ominous shadows accompanying it in this modern day. This becomes a very dangerous practice when one considers what the husband may have died from. If he died as a result of HIV/AIDS, then the probability is high that his wife will indeed be a harbourer of the disease as well. This has menacing implications for the new husband, who is trying to help her, as she will no doubt infect him as well. He will then infect his current wives, and a whole new family system will be doomed with this plague of HIV/AIDS. When presented with the fact of the threat of AIDS, the response is often one of denial, This is our forefather's way of doing it. (Student quote - Alexander Mfune) 4.12 GENDER ISSUES Women have a subservient role to the man in Chewa culture, (as with most African societies). Women, who are generally the 'workhorses' of the family, are expected to cater to their men, holding them in a position of utmost authority in their lives. As an example, during mealtimes, the men are fed first, with what food remaining when he is finished becoming available to the wife and children. When a woman addresses her husband, she has to kneel before him in a subservient position. Many churches and NGOs in Malawi are addressing the gender issues and roles of women in this country, and although there is more awareness, dramatic inequality continues to be a significant problem. Mwambo is a traditional cultural practice related to behaviour. It's a cultural practice teaching young people how to behave among the elders.... and teaching good manners such as kneeling down when speaking to an elderly person, etc. (Student quote - Alpheus Banda) Even with the advances that have been made in recent years there remains a significant amount of gender inequality in most African countries, Malawi included. During the girls' initiation ceremony in the Yao tribal tradition, which is almost entirely Moslem in its beliefs with traditional elements included, Girls are encouraged to submit to the wishes and demands of any man who wants to sleep with them. They are also taught to tolerate any sexual harassment such as rape without any complaint because they believe that men are more superior to women and in addition to this, girls are taught not to report any rape cases because they are sexual objects. They are strongly encouraged not to reject any man who wants to take them to bed because rejection of a man is seen as an open defiance and sin before God who made a woman for a man and not a man for a woman (Adam and Eve) (Student quote - Mirriam Mkuka) 4.13 POVERTY If the woman does not take up with other men in the family, she is often faced with severe hardship and destitution. Poverty and sudden reduction in income (e.g. when a husband loses his job and the family suddenly loses his salary which they need for food, rent, school fees and health care), have led some women to the desperate situation of being willing to do anything they can to bring in the needed money to provide for their families basic survival. As a last resort some women turn to prostitution to keep the family going. This may be seen as an altruistic act on their part to provide for their families at the expense of their own health (Banda 2002:1). Economic dependency and social norms make it hard for women and girls to deny men sex. Women account for 55 percent of the continent's HIV infections. Teenage girls suffer 5 to 6 times the infection rates of boys because older men prey on them. At the same time, women and girls tend to bear the main burden of caring for sick family members, and often have less care and support when they are infected (Swarns 2000:10). A lot of men in authority (e.g. in Government, NGOs, private sectors or business) abuse their powers through forcing their employees or prospective employees to have sex with them. Female job seekers who are desperately seeking for jobs in a very competitive job market may be offered the job on condition that, you will become my girl friend. In desperation to get a job many girls have given in to such men and accepted the job along with 'the conditions of employment' (Swarns 2000:10). It has been reported that as many as fifty percent of teachers expect sexual favours from their students as an incentive for good grades and special treatment. This is especially true in the upper classes of the primary levels (standards 6, 7, and 8). Double standards reflecting societal norms regarding the appropriateness of sexual behaviour of men and women are similar to those in many other parts of the world. In Malawi, as in the West, a respectable woman is to remain faithful to her spouse, while obediently 'looking the other way' as her spouse is unfaithful to her. It is her obligation to be a quiet and understanding observer of this behaviour, realizing that men have 'special needs,' requiring frequency and variety in their sexual encounters. It is an unspoken test of manhood and a source of pride for a man to experience many partners prior to his marriage, where he takes vows of faithfulness with the expectation that infidelity is, if not expected, certainly allowed. A story was related to this author of a Christian Malawian woman, married to a Christian Malawian man who was professionally successful by any world standard. When casual conversation with this woman turned to her children, the comment was made to her that it was fun to watch children grow up and develop into the adults God had planned for them to be. This woman turned to the speaker (who was of a Western mindset) and said, You really don't have any idea, do you? I have no hope of seeing my children grow up to adulthood. I fully expect to die from AIDS [from my husband] long before that. (Personal communication with researcher 1999) In association with the problem of poverty comes the problem of idleness. When people are left with too much time on their hands, the will automatically seek ways to pass the time. Without purpose in life, one way of filling this void is in the brewing and consumption of local beers and other alcoholic beverages, either at home or in local taverns called 'Vilabu (Lambya).' This is a way to numb the senses and help time to slip by unnoticed. One obvious danger with such activities is the loss of inhibitions, which normally keep behaviour in check, and therefore promiscuous behaviour is even more rampant with this element factored into the picture. 4.14 DENIAL Denial of the problem of HIV/AIDS is a huge problem in Malawi (3.2), as well as in many other parts of Africa, where people refuse to acknowledge the source of their illness. Even for those who are willing to admit they are afflicted with HIV/AIDS, it is rare for someone to disclose that it was acquired in the traditional way, from high-risk sexual practices. Another area of evidence to support the problem of denial in relation to the HIV/AIDS pandemic can be noted during funerals. There is a tendency in Malawi to report the history of the deceased during a funeral ceremony. In most cases the truth is not said concerning the actual cause of death, i.e. that the deceased died of AIDS. Instead of factual reporting in these matters, the one giving the account of death will usually indicate that the death was due to Malaria, Headache, or some other opportunistic disease. This is done to avoid embarrassment to the remaining family. This accepted practice continues to foster the denial in the entire community. A random survey conducted by The Malawi Insider showed that the majority of people do not want to know their HIV status (Ligomeka 2002). Most argued that once someone tested positive, they would die prematurely. Alfred Chanza of Kawale in Lilongwe said it this way, In my case, I will never go for an HIV test no matter what. I have seen so many people who went to that test dying just months after testing positive because knowing you have the virus will psychologically kill you just like that. Most of the men interviewed by The Malawi Standard said they had multiple sexual partners at some point in their lives and could have been exposed to the HIV virus then. For that reason they would not go for a test lest they came out positive. One journalist working for the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation shared his feelings in the article (Ligomeka 2002): Until recently, I was one guy who always had two or three partners even though I have been married for six years. I have changed my behaviour because I have seen many people die of AIDS but I will not go for an HIV test. All I am doing now is to live positively and for that I do not think I need to know my HIV status.' This sense of denial carries the idea of the proverbial 'ostrich with its head in the ground,' as people respond as if it is not a threat of affecting their lives at all. When they are able to continue to deny the existence of the possibility that they are infected with the disease, they continue to neglect taking the necessary precautions to prevent the further spread of the disease. Those in the more remote villages tend to: 'think that AIDS does not exist or that the disease is for the town people and that they can't catch it.' (Student quote - Sullivan Kenneth Kandulu) In addition to the denial described above by those who have the opportunity to understand the problem of HIV/AIDS in their culture, there is also an additional factor, which contributes to this problem (3.3). This is the fact that many people, particularly those in more outlying areas, have not had the opportunity to get accurate information and are therefore forced to believe what is often dangerous misinformation. Some of the tribes, such as the Lomwe have a tendency to shun outside information and educational opportunities, calling this the 'White man's culture' as education is commonly called. The people of the society they always think of simple life whereby the duty of the men and women is agriculture and marriage and with this kind of philosophy they also tend to limit the mind of young ones, hence it is difficult when it comes to change of attitudes... A lot of people believe that AIDS is not real. They argue this from the fact that their ancestors and forefathers never knew it. They do believe that it must be certain form of infection that has come into effect because there is moral decay and that people have abandoned the worship of ancestors. Some have boldly professed that this disease does not exist. (Student quote - Sean Kampondeni) Instead, many people 'put their trust in the charms, witch-doctors, and when a person gets sick with the HIV/AIDS virus, they have the concept that he/she has been bewitched.' (Student quote - Leisten Ew Nashire) 4.15 THE WORKFORCE IS DYING Another significant impact of HIV/AIDS in Malawi has to do with the country's workforce dying, compounding to the already overwhelming poverty crisis. The Africa Journal of Evangelical Theology cites statistics in Zimbabwe (which can be applied to the surrounding countries such as Malawi as well) that the life expectancy is projected to drop from 61 to 33 years and 80% of those dying with AIDS are workers between the productive ages of 20-50 (AJET Ed. 2000:103). This spirals downward as funds that would have normally gone into development of the church and the country are being funnelled away to care for skyrocketing needs due to increased sickness, orphans, etc. The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), International Labour Office (ILO) economist Desmond Cohen said in a July 11 press briefing (Porter 2002), 'nations can not achieve the goals of sustainable development if they continue to lose the people who know how to run the machinery of civilized society. 'How (do you) keep schools functioning, or transport systems functioning, or water supplies functioning, or police services functioning when 20-30 percent of the people you have trained are, in fact, dying of HIV/AIDS?' Cohen asked rhetorically. Cohen says the ILO analysis, focusing on the most seriously affected nations in Sub-Saharann Africa, found that up to 30 percent of teacher positions in Botswana are unfilled, largely because of deaths from AIDS. In the same country, predictions are that 40 percent of health workers could be lost to the disease over the next ten years. Cohen goes further in depth regarding the economic ramifications of HIV/AIDS in the general population by citing flaws in the methods of estimating the cost implications of AIDS. One example which must not be overlooked is the reality that when estimating the gross national product for a given country, the contributions of women and all they do in the supportive traditional family roles have not usually been factored in to the equation. When these contributions to the fabric of society are lacking, they will be sorely felt as the effects of AIDS strikes deeper into the female population of Malawi and other African nations. Overall predictions for labour force losses due to HIV/AIDS in Malawi reflect a loss of 10.7% by the year 2005, with an increase up to 16.0% by the year 2020 (Beresford 2001). This affects not only those who work outside of the home, but also impacts the vast majority of Malawians who are subsistence farmers. Overall in Africa, it estimated that there would be reductions of 61 per cent for maize, 49 per cent for vegetables and 37 per cent for groundnuts. The impact of AIDS reaches beyond the growing capacity of farmers and hits long-term agricultural capacity as well. Livestock is often sold to pay funeral expenses, and orphaned children often lack the skills to farm or look after livestock in their care (Beresford 2001). An article in Malawi's The Nation describes the impact HIV/AIDS is having upon the hunger and poverty situation in Malawi. Country director for The Hunger Project Malawi, Callista Chimombo says (Mwalwimba 2003), The organization's mission to ensure sustainable end to hunger and poverty is being undermined by the HIV/AIDS scourge. She goes on to say, HIV/AIDS is affecting food production in the country because productive labour force is forced to stay home and look after infected people instead of committing [themselves] to agricultural and income generating activities. 4.16 URBAN CULTURAL CHALLENGES The villages under study for this paper lack many of the fibres that keep the more rural villages strong. Many of the people living in Chimbalame and neighbouring villages are of a much more transient nature than is typically found in a more traditional village setting. Located on the outskirts of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city, these villages attract many who have left the more traditional village style of life in hopes of finding more opportunity in the city. Leaving their homes and support systems, they find themselves living in a situation foreign to what they have grown up identifying with in their home village. As they raise their own families in this intercity village situation, their children lack the strong family ties from which the society is based. Without the accountability that accompanies the traditional village life, people find themselves in a position where their behaviour is no longer under the control and influence of the tight knit family structure. The consequences of this modernist4 movement are that the individual becomes the centre of people's attention and concern. The individual is concerned with his/her own survival and is seldom concerned with one's neighbour. This also has an impact on support structures, such as the family. The family has disintegrated. This is seen, for example, in the rapid increase in the number of single mothers, single fathers, street children, homeless people, and in the breakdown of public morals (Zulu 2001:5). This allows them the opportunity to experiment in behaviours and actions that they may have never considered participating in while in their more protected family milieu. In some individuals, this leads to an erosion of values as they realize that what might have been considered inappropriate behaviour in their more traditional family setting is overlooked or not even noticed as they fade into faceless masses of a large intercity village community. The continuing interaction of the family works to help keep members of the community acting in a more traditional, predictable behaviour in order to avoid the ire of the group. This same customary interaction and the strong hierarchical structures of the long-established family serve to promote behaviours that will meet with the group approval. Approval and acceptance by the group is foundational in the sense of personal value and identity in Malawian society. This also works in a reverse manner as individuals respond in appropriate means while participating in the group as an attempt to avoid bringing disgrace upon the family. In addition to the threats placed upon the family unit by dislocation of the family members, there is another serious threat with potentially more dangerous ramifications to the family in Africa, and in Malawi in particular as it attempts to deal with the compounding threat of HIV/AIDS. Charles W. Colson quotes statistics citing 'an estimated 10.4 million African children lost both parents to AIDS during the 1990s. That number is expected to double or triple by 2010' (Colson 2000). This brings to light the ever-increasing problem of orphans. Orphans are a growing, multi-faceted problem in all parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Due to the devastation of AIDS upon the portion of the population most noted for not only its potential contribution to the workforce, but also those in the prime childbearing years, countless numbers of children are being left without parents. Even with the built-in support structure of the extended family system, which under normal circumstances would be able to absorb these children, the problem is becoming overwhelming. Parents are dying, often leaving no one remaining in the family to care for the children. An article published by National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. states that, Orphans are at far greater risk of malnutrition and unlikely to receive the health care or education they need. They are also more likely to engage in hazardous labour, including commercial sex work, which in turn exposes them to greater risk of HIV infection. Infant mortality is doubling, child mortality is tripling, and life expectancy is plummeting by twenty years or more.' (Church World Service 2000) Malawi has one of the lowest life expectancies in all of Africa, and therefore in the entire world. Depending upon which source you are comparing, the life expectancy for Malawi has been listed in the low thirties range. Children are left to fend for themselves with the only tools for their survival being their own wit and cunning as they try to find the basic life necessities of food and shelter for not only themselves, but often for younger siblings as well. Not only does this increase crime from the children themselves, many will find that selling their bodies is one of the few ways they can earn money for their continued existence. This of course works to threaten their survival as they participate in such high-risk behaviour, leading to the devastation of HIV/AIDS in their own lives. This discussion on urban cultural challenges demonstrates the underlying causes of the erosion of traditional values and safeguards that might normally be present in a traditional village and are not necessarily found in the villages under study. Due to this lack of accountability and instability, high risk behaviours which might have come under the control and influence of the family group and subjected to the individuals sense of morality and their own personal conscience. This sense of individual responsibility is foreign, and in many ways in opposition to, the community model of interaction and accountability. In these intercity villages, the new model of the 'nuclear' family is replacing the old established values of the extended family, which have traditionally included the grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. Aspects of city living bring other changes that threaten the fibre of the rural Malawian as well. The time-honoured tradition of the family working together in the planting and growing of food for ones family, has been replaced by a different set of work ethics and values in the city as individuals now compete for jobs in various sectors and businesses. Many are disillusioned as they find the number of jobs available failing to match the large numbers of people seeking them. Wages are low, so that even those fortunate enough to find consistent and reliable employment struggle to provide their family's basic needs with the income they earn. Theft and crime are high in these areas, so that personal security is a primary concern. The villages under study in this project are collectively nicknamed 'thieves village' due to the high rate of crime in this community. 4.17 CONCLUSION The cultural practices described in this chapter are deeply ingrained in the people of Malawi, and prior to the pandemic of HIV/AIDS these kinds traditional practices were not life threatening. With the threat of annihilation looming over them, the people of Malawi, and indeed those people throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, are beginning to re-evaluate some of their traditional practices. Due primarily to the Christian influences which have been felt in this country since the early days of Christian missions beginning with David Livingstone, many of the customs described in this chapter are diminishing; some to the point where they are practiced only in the most remote areas where the Christian influences have had the least amount of impact. Other practices are being re-evaluated, and if not discarded completely they are being revamped and restructured in such a way as to keep the rich cultural aspects and purposes, with revisions designed to eliminate the dangerous practices which have been associated with them. The struggle of the church to discern God's will for their present situation (1.4.10.6) has not been easy. One shining example of these types of changes can be seen in the area of female initiation practices. In many areas the churches have undertaken to look for ways to keep the foundational messages that have been valued in this important cultural practice, such as the instruction given by the older women (alangizi) on behaviours, modesty and interpersonal relationships. Transforming the sexual focus of this important time in a girl's life to one of mutual respect with sexual abstinence before marriage, coupled with faithfulness afterward, has had many positive outcomes. Not only has it served to reduce the spread of AIDS, but it has also served to enhance the family structure, as well as impacting the self-concepts and attitudes of these girls. This leads them to the discover the empowerment so desperately needed among African women to see themselves as individuals capable and deserving of value and respect. Examples such as this demonstrate the beginning of a softening of the church's approach to the problems addressed in this research; dealing with the attitudes of the church towards the HIV/AIDS community. Even with shining areas of hope such as these, there is still much work to do regarding the acknowledged problems of alienation, estrangement and prejudice which have far too often been the identifying factors regarding the church's relationship with those infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, instead of the opposite - the love of Jesus Christ (5.4). These chapters have sought to provide the reader with an in-depth understanding of the multifaceted problems involved in the pandemic of AIDS in relation to the response of the African church as it seeks to demonstrate the Christian mandate to demonstrate the love of Christ to a lost and dying world. Assessment of the unique factors demonstrating the complexities of the issues surrounding HIV/AIDS in Africa has been done by examining the historical response of the church in general, as well as the African church in particular. Building upon the historical perspective, the cultural practices common to many African communities; and then more specifically, the cultural practices in the Chewa culture of Malawi specifically, have brought some light to the complicated issues involved in this most difficult problem. With this foundational background, it is now time to turn to the theological implications involved in these complicated matters which will be dealt with in chapter five, which will then lead into the specific methodologies and conclusions which can be drawn from a study such as this. 1 Lambya, Ngoni (northern), Chewa, Ngoni (southern), Sena, Lomwe, Mang'anja, Yao, Tonga, Tumbuka, Nyachusa, Nkonde. 2 'Family' in the Western sense consists of the 'nuclear' family - father, mother and approximately two children. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins would be considered as part of the 'extended' family, but not on the same intimate grounds the nuclear family. 3 Sophomore students at African Bible College were given an essay assignment 20 November 2002 in which they were to describe tribal and traditional practices that promote the spread of HIV/AIDS in their own particular tribe. Their contributions to this thesis are noted as 'student quote' and then the individual student's name is indicated. 4 Although not the focus of this research, the post-modern movement that has so affected the West has not left the developing nations unscathed. As is evidenced in this quotation, it has already had a profound effect on the fibre of the family and community makeup. i