In 2004, the Blantyre Joint Choir orchestrated an extraordinary event that left audiences spellbound—the “Sing Malawian Gospel Concert.” This one-of-a-kind performance seamlessly wove the rich tapestry of Malawian traditional dances into the choir’s powerful gospel music, creating a vibrant fusion of rhythm, faith, and culture.
As we delved into perfecting the mganda dance, it quickly became clear that we needed authentic mabadza—improvised trumpets crafted from gourds—to truly bring the performance to life. However, finding someone in Blantyre with the skill to create them proved impossible. Our search led us to Dowa, a district where mganda thrives as a beloved tradition, and it was there that these iconic instruments were expertly made for us.
It is not that the people of Blantyre lack the genetic ability to craft mabadza while those in Dowa possess it—there is nothing biological about it. The skill is purely cultural. Boys in Dowa are steeped in the rhythm of mganda from a young age. Back then, villages would fiercely compete against each other in this artistic dance. As a student at Robert Blake Secondary School in Dowa, I vividly recall the vibrant mganda teams flocking to the Dowa Community Centre Ground during Republic celebrations.
The art of crafting mabadza is a skill many Dowa boys once absorbed almost instinctively at a tender age. They grew up surrounded by it, honing their craft until mastery became second nature. This process mirrors nearly all pursuits in life—what we immerse ourselves in and practice consistently shapes our expertise and defines our craft.
A quick survey across our tertiary institutions would likely reveal that the majority of students come from families where the parents themselves have attained relatively high academic qualifications. These children grow up witnessing firsthand how education propels their parents’ success, providing them with immediate role models to emulate. They benefit from an environment where academic challenges can be openly discussed, with parents offering sound, informed guidance. This advantage is entirely cultural, rooted in exposure and environment, rather than any biological predisposition.
In rural Malawi, the family system plays a pivotal cultural role in shaping children’s academic trajectories. In patrilineal families, children have the advantage of bonding closely with their fathers and, by extension, the rest of their immediate family. This close-knit structure provides a stable foundation for guidance and support in academic pursuits. Conversely, children in matrilineal families often experience weaker connections with their fathers, who traditionally have limited involvement in their upbringing. This dynamic, in my view, explains why the Northern Region, which universally follows a patrilineal system, has produced a significant portion of Malawi’s educated elite.
I am deeply convinced that in nearly all areas of life, success or failure hinges on the prevailing culture. If we cultivated a manufacturing culture in Malawi, we could create products that would astound the entire world. Malawians have immense potential to launch groundbreaking projects and introduce revolutionary products onto the global stage. Manufacturing is not, and never has been, the exclusive domain of the white race. As the Ghanaian Apostle Kantanka, a pioneer in car manufacturing and technological innovation, once said, “Nobody is useless on Earth. The moment you begin to think that someone is useless, it is an indication that you are fixing square pegs in round holes.”
Our lack of progress stems largely from failing to cultivate a culture that fosters innovation. To move forward, we must carefully examine our cultural practices, identifying those that nurture growth and those that hinder it. Some elements may need to be borrowed from other cultures and seamlessly integrated into our own to spur development. Take reading and writing, for example—though not traditionally part of our culture, these skills have the power to catapult us to extraordinary levels of progress.
As I have argued before, the beauty of culture lies in its adaptability. It is not static, but dynamic—fluid, flexible, and open to transformation. This malleability is our saving grace. If development were tied to race, our fate would be sealed, for race is immutable. But culture is not. Its changeable nature offers us the opportunity to shape it to our advantage.
To achieve meaningful development, we must discard several detrimental aspects of our culture. One glaring example is the lack of a sense of belonging among employees in the workplace. Many Malawians must be pushed or coerced to fulfill their responsibilities, as if employment were a form of punishment rather than a shared endeavor. For them, the workplace is simply a battleground where employers are cast as villains and employees as unappreciated saints, with countless excuses offered for why they cannot go the extra mile.