Kungoni
The Kungoni 'Centre of Culture and Art' is a non-profit organization in central Malawi. Kungoni is located in Mua, a village in the Dedza district, about 60 km from Salima. Kungoni is both easily accessible, being about two hours drive on bitumen from Lilongwe and three from Blantyre. Kungoni sits a little above the lake plain, with views to the lake in one direction and the African Rift Valley escarpment in the other. The site is landscaped and planted as a
botanic garden with a variety of tropical trees and shrubs.
Overview
The Kungoni Centre was established by the White Father Claude Boucher Chisale with the intention of giving the local carvers training in a variety of artistic forms with the intention of improving local incomes. Besides the carvings, the Kungoni Centre has also developed a culture sector which includes the Chamare Museum, the research centre, local traditional dancing troupe and cultural courses. The centre employs over 120 carvers and is just setting up a new project called Kumbewu. Kumbewu will offer skill training for women and serve as a site for various information sessions including Aids education, agricultural diversification, money management and more.The Mua Mission
The Mua Mission was founded by the White Fathers in 1902 when the buildings of the first big mission house were built and which still stand today. The first church was finished in 1905 and opened at Christmas. The church which is used today was established in 1971 on the same ground and a lot of things of the old church have been adopted. The Kungoni Centre has been created by Father Claude Boucher Chisale in 1976, after Father Boucher already worked with artists in Nsipe. Originally it was just set up as a project of helping the local artists but the cultural part developed.Carving Centre
Father Boucher founded the Carving Centre to teach the local artists new techniques. The Carving Centre is used by the experienced carvers to teach young artists. The artworks are sold with a fair price for the carvers so they can support their families. In 2009 the art gallery was opened to give a sense of the carving history. The gallery documents, the thirty years of work performed in the community and the advancement of the themes and craftsmanship of the pieces. The Kungoni carvings are that popular, that it is even possible to find some in the Vatican museum and in the Buckingham Palace and in Churches and private collections in Africa, Europe, and North America.Cultural offerings
Chamare Museum
The Chamare Museum provides the visitor with an introduction tothe richness of the Chewa, Ngoni and Yao cultures of central and southern
Malawi, as well as a little on the Batwa people, the original and now vanished
inhabitants of Malawi. The Museum has three rooms containing photographs, text
panels, and displays of objects from the three cultures. There is also some
coverage of the early history of missions in the Mua area.
The museum also displays Nyau masks. Nyau or Gule wamkulu is the ‘great dance’ of the Nyau secret societies of the Chewa. Gule
wamkulu was declared a ‘Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Humanity’ by UNESCO in 2005. Kungoni provides one of the best places in Malawi to
learn some of the stories of Gule wamkulu.
Chamare Museum also provides detailed information on the
rituals and rights of passage for the Chewa, Ngoni, and Yao people. It also chronicles, the history of the White Fathers mission work in Malawi dating back to 1902. Included in the collection are the many years of field work and the gathering of cultural material and is the most extensive display for explaining to Malawians and visitors the cultural history of the three main tribal groups.