Vimbuza
The Vimbuza is a traditional dance of the Tumbuka people of Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia. It is a ritualistic dance performed to communicate with the spirits of the dead and to seek their guidance.
The dance combines physical movement, vocalizations, and spiritual connection to promote emotional balance and well-being.
History
Origins
The Vimbuza dance originated in the 16th century in the Nkhamangam, which was located in what is now northern and central Malawi,and southern Tanzania and eastern Zambia.The models of Tumbuka traditional religion and ghost beliefs have developed through exchanges with neighboring peoples and under the influence of Christian missionaries since the end of the 19th century.
In Africa, the idea of possessed spirits attacking mainly women is widespread, and in some cases it has been perpetuated under the cover of Christianity.
Commonly observed indications of a possessive mind are tongue-speaking associated with such symptoms as apathy, limb pain, signs of depression, and disregard for basic cultural norms. Among the Tumbuka, this may mean that the woman eats taboo foods instead of spending the night in the bush at home, walking around naked, or neglecting the usual household chores. The goal of therapy is not to drive out the mind, but to soothe it to the point that the patient can get along with his mind. Possessing spirits are not necessarily harmful, but their presence may protect against other spirits or witchcraft.
Religious shrines were located in central locations, where a possessive nature spirit or a lowly deity called chiŵanda was worshiped. Men or women who were possessed by this spirit were henceforth to serve him at his shrine. The possessed could go into trance and communicate with the spirit, and in economic emergencies, they received messages about how humans could restore the lost harmony with nature. Regardless of their gender, they were called "women of the spirit".
In the 1850s, the Nguni invaded the southern part of the settlement area from the south and subjugated the simple Tumbuka population that had not fled. There were changes in the economic and cultural fields. The Nguni suppressed the religious practices of the Tumbuka, causing the shrines to largely disappear. By the end of the 1870's, the population had grown too large for the previous methods of cultivation. Farmers began to burn down forests to fertilize the fields with the ashes. Deforestation has dried up rivers and reduced overall agricultural production. There were several hunger uprisings of the Tumbuka against their social oppression and increased religious activities to counter the loss of their own culture. The Tumbuka and other Nguni-dependent lower classes, as they became increasingly impoverished, created an increasingly powerful spiritual counterworld. The Nguni ruling class increasingly faced accusations of witchcraft. Generally, an unexplained misfortune is attributed to the magical action of malicious enemies. It offered to use the Tumbuka's ancient defense methods to track down the witches and stop them. In place of the earlier, destructive ghost shrines of the organized Tumbuka cult, new shrines were now being built everywhere to worship previously unknown spirits, who were thought to have been brought by the Nguni. Among them were possessive spirits who, regardless of their cultural background, spread to the lower classes.
In the 1880's, the new ideas of the afterlife promoted by Christian missionaries gained influence, especially among the Tumbuka and the similarly oppressed Tonga. The economic and social changes that followed explain how the ghosts that once afflicted men and women alike gradually became a problem.
Vimbuza ghosts spread in the early 1920s as an almost exclusively female phenomenon. Concerned Presbyterian missionaries responded with bans and the exclusion of women from the church who participated in the rituals. They declared the healers to be witches and the dances to be immoral, held for the purpose of adultery. The fact that the British banned the Vimbuza ceremony in 1924 did not solve the problem. Beginning in the Kasitu River valley in the south, the spirit cult spread rapidly through other areas by migrating families. In addition to the hard-line Presbyterians and Catholics, Christian sects provided a receptacle for all who would not bow to strict doctrine. The Livingstonia Mission faced competition from Jehovah's Witnesses and Zionist churches. Sects such as the Last Church of God and his Christ, founded in the mid-1920's, sought rapid growth by permitting polygamy, as did the African National Church, founded in 1929. There were baptisms without prior Christian instruction and promises of salvation in the afterlife despite the retention of the previous way of life. This is where the ghost cult gathered.
Classes of spirits
The spirits worshiped by the Tumbuka today have evolved from various cultural influences. According to their mythological origins, they can be divided into several groups: Vimbuza are explained with the spirits of fallen warriors, the end of the 19th century. The European Parliament has already expressed its views on the Commission's proposal for a directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to asbestos. Vilombos are powerful animal spirits of lions, leopards, and pythons that originate from the widespread African cosmogony. The animals must be characterized as wild and alien. The most dangerous are the vyanusi, who are the returned spirits of the Nguni of deceased powerful healers and witch-finders. The word vyanusi comes from izanusi, "the stinkers". Another spirit that does not appear in the ceremony, however, is the mzungu, probably because it is difficult to imagine a dancing missionary or a dancing British colonial official. Nor are ancestral spirits suitable for the ceremony. Ancestors are one's own, they can speak to people in dreams or visions and give instructions, but they are not trusted to take possession of a person. Structurally different, Ancestors stands for culture and Vimbuza for nature.Animal sacrifice and dancing ceremony
Health is understood as a balance between inner heat and cold. Once a person is diagnosed an obsession, the patient gets too hot. To find out, the woman visits a botanist who used to be obsessed herself. She can talk to the spirit and maybe classify it. For treatment, she prescribes a medicine and thus becomes the mbuya of the patient. If necessary, she organizes the public therapeutic dance ceremony.An animal sacrifice is offered to the Vimbuza patient, as is the case with other African possession spirits. Ghosts need fresh blood, and if this desire is not satisfied, the ghost may take the patient's blood. An animal sacrifice is the basic prerequisite for the healing process. In the chilopa ritual, the patient drinks the blood that has just gushed from the throat, soothing the mind and alleviating the patient's suffering, at least in the short term. Ghosts are often described as mphepo. The sacrificial animals are usually suffocated, the killing is seen as drinking the animal's air. Drinking the warm gushing blood is equivalent to taking in the essence of life, so the process is not taking life, but taking in life. Unlike other sacrificial rituals performed by priests, in the chilopa the patient himself makes the sacrifice, meaning that the Vimbuza spirits directly receive the life energy in the form of animal blood. The first animal sacrifice begins with a chicken, to increase to a goat or, rarely, even a cow. If after the victim's symptoms have disappeared, meaning the spirit has cooled, the patient does not need further treatment, he can live with the spirit inside. Otherwise, he has difficult to cure ancestral dreams.
Such a sacrifice may take place independently of or at the beginning of the dance ceremony. Two large mphanje drums and two small mphoza drums are used. They play complex polyrhythmic structures that warm the mind, that is, evoke. Have him speak and identify himself. The patient or group of patients is seated close to the drums. By trial and error, the drummers repeat the rhythms specific to each individual spirit until one spirit is addressed, as seen when the patient falls into a trance. The woman is then dressed in a goat- or monkey-skin dress, now usually made of cotton, and small bells are hung on her feet or on her hips. In her hands, she carries a small axe and a fly rod, symbols of dominance, with which the woman expresses her radically changed social position in this exceptional situation. The woman may behave arrogantly and aggressively, insulting spectators and musicians or threatening with the axe.
The fluttering stripes of the dress are the visible counterpart of the drum beats to which the dancer must accurately move. With the bells on her hips or feet, she amplifies the wild rhythm, making trips and shaking her shoulders. When the spirits have become accustomed to the dance movements, the dancer begins to stabilize, and with her departure, the event is over.
Founder
While the exact founder of the Vimbuza dance is unknown, it is believed to have been created by the Tumbuka people's ancestors, who were skilled in the art of traditional dance and music.In northern Malawi, the Tumbuka people have a long-standing tradition of Vimbuza. This powerful practice is an integral part of the ng'oma healing tradition, which spans across Bantu-speaking Africa. Despite efforts to suppress it, ng'oma remains a vital component of indigenous healthcare, providing solace and treatment to those in need.
Vimbuza is particularly significant for women, who make up the majority of patients seeking treatment for mental health issues. Under the guidance of esteemed healers, patients undergo a transformative ritual that combines music, dance, and spirituality. The healing process takes place in a temphiri, a communal village house, where patients are welcomed and supported throughout their journey.
As the patient enters a trance-like state, the village women and children form a circle around them, singing songs that invoke the helping spirits. The rhythmic beats of the drums, played by male musicians, complement the singing, creating a potent synergy that allows patients to express and overcome their afflictions.
With roots dating back to the mid-19th century, Vimbuza emerged as a response to the trauma of oppression and continued to evolve as a healing dance during British occupation. Despite being forbidden by Christian missionaries, Vimbuza persisted, offering a safe space for people to confront their mental health struggles in a way that was understood and accepted by their community.
For the Tumbuka people, Vimbuza is not only a therapeutic practice but also an art form that complements modern medicine. While it continues to face opposition from Christian churches and modern healthcare systems, Vimbuza remains an essential part of rural Tumbuka culture, a testament to the resilience and strength of this ancient tradition.