I have lost count of how many times I have heard the term
“harmful cultural practices.” One would think that every aspect of what is
supposedly Malawian “culture” is harmful, and must be stopped. The problem is
not whether some practices are harmful or not, rather it is what constitutes our
understanding of what we call “cultural”. A lot of what is called “cultural” in
this particular context has nothing to do with culture. It has everything to do
with gender-based violence and abuse fomented by economic, political, social and
gender dynamics that masquerade as “culture” when they are not.
Notwithstanding the onslaught that is threatening to
obliterate everything to do with “culture”, the country has seen an
unprecedented proliferation of cultural preservation groups. While some of
these groups have organised quietly and with noble goals, others have taken
advantage of the political fortunes of their clansmen and women, and sought
political mileage out of ethnicity. In critiquing how we define culture, we are
not dismissing the existence of genuine culture and institutions that define a
society. Rather, we are guarding against the abuses and excesses of the concept
of culture and the tendency for political hijacking of government structures.
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| Performing artist Masankho Banda performing a story at TEDxLilongwe, 25th May 2013 |
It is difficult, but extremely important, to distinguish
between cultural preservation and ethnic chauvinism. The difficulty becomes
more prominent when we factor in the recalcitrance of our political class to
observe separation of powers. Whenever you hear the cry “Bomaaaa” it is usually
from party diehards who see their ruling political party and the government as
one and the same. It is a hangover from the one-party era that we have failed
to cure.
Cultural preservation is an important part of national
development, and it must be supported by government infrastructure through
constitutional provisions and educational programmes. Separated from political
party machinations, government support for cultural preservation provides a
level playing field for all ethnicities. We are coming from a history of ethnic
chauvinism in which some ethnicities were privileged over others. That set the
tempo for how successive governments and their ruling parties have treated the
issue of ethnic nationalism.
The reasons why Malawian ethnic groups are clamouring to be
recognised may sound counter-tuitive, at first glance. We are yet to deal with
the legacy of colonialism which entrenched in us an inferiority complex about
our culture, our identity, and our very being. Religions that were imported
into the country succeeded on the back of the success of that campaign to
inferiorise our very core identity. We have never recovered from that spiritual
vanquishing.
It is this recognition that ought to guide the government’s
role in restoring cultural pride. If colonialism defeated us on the basis of
our identity, any rebirth we wish to initiate will have to be based on
reclaiming our worth as human beings. This will be very hard, particularly for
those of us convinced that nothing in our existential identity is worth
salvaging.
We pay a heavy price for the inferiority complex imposed on
us. Our political class has abandoned all sense of agency in taking control of
our destiny. We see all social problems as beyond our capacity to deal with
them. We scorn and abandon everything that reminds us of our ancient past,
which we have been schooled had nothing to do with greatness. Even the efforts
we are making at cultural revival are merely cosmetic. What they are achieving
to revive are the outward manifestations of culture, in the form of dances,
rituals and regalia. These do have their place in cultural preservation, but
they do not form the complete cultural agenda.
For this cultural revival to be meaningful, we need to
deepen our understanding of the bigger purposes of why we exist as a people. We
need to go beyond the outward appearance of culture and identify beliefs and
attitudes that affirm our existence and develop our sense of community. This
calls for a critical examination of the structures we have inherited for
governance and development. We have inherited systems that privilege very few
people while marginalising the majority of Malawians. The development agenda in
our country is in the hands of only those who can understand the English
language, yet the majority of Malawians do not use that language.
This is why even after nearly five decades of independence,
the majority of Malawians have not been afforded the opportunity of a
meaningful education. A meaningful education does not confer upon one knowledge
for the sake of knowledge only. Education entails a deeper understanding of
one’s purpose for existing and for belonging in a community. Our guiding
purpose ought to be making Malawi a better place than we found it, starting in
our homes and in our community. An education that alienates people from their
community and their culture is not only retrogressive, it is outright
dangerous.
But cultural preservation does not mean holding on to
beliefs and practices that have clearly proved to be harmful to individuals and
to societies. Cultural development entails a critical outlook, learning about
other societies and adopting new ideas. But
this learning has to be on our terms, rather than on the terms of those we
would like to learn from. This is where the government’s role in cultural
development lies. We must never allow individuals to distort the essence of
cultural revival by hijacking government structures for political ends. That
will be our undoing.
Note: This article appeared in the Sunday Times Oped debate on 16th June, 2013, under the title Government has a role in cultural revival
