To many Malawians, poetry in Malawi is not new as people have been reciting poems for generations. However, serious business and recognition only started after the early missionaries introduced formal education in the country and along with it, came poems written in English.

Then poems written in Chichewa came with seasoned poet Benedicto Wokomaatani Malunga said the development has been gradual. 

Does poetry in local languages: Chiwamba.
| Nation

He said: “Indigenous languages show how powerful they can be in terms of conveying messages to the public.

“You will agree with me that previously, we thought romantic poetry would only better be conveyed in English. But poems such as Ndidzakutengera kunyanja Lignet [done by Malunga himself] have reversed that because of the power of Chinyanja which has been deployed and shown the impact in our readers.”   

Malunga recalled how he started writing poems in local languages. He said when he joined the University of Malawi at its then constituent college Chancellor College in Zomba in the 1990s there was what he described as a cultural renaissance.

He said: “There was debate among students and lecturers to look at who were Malawians in terms of culture as reflected by poetry, drama and so on. During the time, the writers workshop [Chanco Writers Workshop] and Mphala were hubs where members of staff such as former speaker of the National Assembly Louis Chimango and students would discuss writing.

“We were discussing literary works in Chinyanja. There was also a travelling theatre that graduated from University of Malawi Chichiri Campus in Blantyre which gathered momentum from 1973 at Chancellor College campus in Zomba.”

The former Unima registrar said the establishment of a  travelling theatre, the writers’ workshop and Mphala, where people gather to discuss something were catalysts of vernacular poems.

He said they wanted people who acquired Western education to contribute to local culture.

Said Malunga: “In fact, after my arrival, I discovered that there were already writers in such names as Francis Moto, Samuel Chombo and Paul Timpuza Mvula. In all fairness, there wasn’t much that had been created and published at the time in Chinyanja.

“That is why I felt compelled to write about a subject often ignored by the west—aging, a poem Nkhalamba  in the Senior Common Room and it was well-received.”

He said that he continued writing in his indigenous language to popularise poetry and “express ourselves in the indigenous languages that are translatable and imbedded in our culture”.

Malunga said his interest to write grew when public broadcaster Malawi Broadcasting Corporation aired his work in Nzeru nkupangwa and Midweek Magazine programmes which received positive reaction.

He also said he was inspired to write in vernacular by Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s book Decolonising the mind released towards the end of his five-year stay at Unima.

Another seasoned writer Stanley Onjezani Kenani said poetry is a form of communication and that language used is key.

He said: “Poetry is a form of expression. But it is not right to say that poetry was first written in English. Many songs in our local languages started off as poems way before colonisation by the British.

“In my view, poetry is a form of expression that people opt to use in any language and it’s always important for any person to express themselves in the language they feel truly free.”

Kenani recalled that in the 1980s, the primary school curriculum had Chichewa poems such as Mlesi and Mpotamanja which were well-liked.

He said he was happy to see poems in other local languages such as Chitonga, chisena, Chiyao and Chinkhonde.

Poet Mike Mazera writes his works in ChiTonga said he writes poems in language to preserve his culture.

“It is one way of encouraging my fellow youths to always remember where we come from. In fact, we can preserve our culture through music, dances as well as poetry. I chose the latter,” he said.

Catholic University of Malawi (Cunima) lecturer Rachel Warren said the essence of poetry in local language is for proper communication.

“Poets recite poems in languages people are able to understand in a particular area. That is why they are able to communicate in languages such as Chitumbuka, Chitonga or Chichewa. The aim is for the people to understand what is being communicated in the poem,” she said.