Red, white and splendid! So colourful and well-appointed was the event that one could easily mistake it for a wedding, an elite one of course. But this was only what was planned to be a traditional engagement ceremony for President Bingu wa Mutharika and his newly found love, 50 year old former Minister of Tourism Callista Chapola Chimombo.
A long, red dress with a teasing frills jacket was the classy attire of the First Lady designate. This coupled with an all white suit complete with white shoes brightened by a red tie and a red pocket flower worn by the president presented a couple filled with love. After all this was Valentine’s Day.
The president and the first-lady to be arrived at the heavily decorated marquee mounted on the lawns of the State House in the Victorian-era black Rolls Royce which was used by late founding president Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
It was all clear even from the main gates into the New State House that what was inside would be nothing closer to the usual. Majestically displayed red and white cloths completely transformed the entrance and prepared the guests of the kind of ambience that was awaiting them inside.
As early as 10 am, long queues had started forming at the gate as security personnel checked in invited guests and controlled the flow of vehicles to ensure smooth movement by the VIP visitors.
This was a ceremony that was expected to be traditional, as in the cultural sense of African dressing and settings. At least this was what the official announcement for the event said.
But during engagement for the President and the First Lady designate, the only thing closer to traditional Malawian culture were Mulhako wa Alhomwe dancers who thronged the event and entertained the couple as they came in and out of the venue.
Probably this could be because earlier in the morning, the couple had a private and closed door traditional ceremony where only relatives, security and State House staff as well as state media were allowed in.
This ceremony was described by one of the people present as a typical “chinkhoswe” ceremony, with all the basic traits of southern region pre-wedding event including mwambo wa nkhuku (sharing of cooked local chicken by marriage counsellors from both families) and symbolic presentation of domestic tools like a hoe and an axe by the groom to his would be wife.
The situation was completely different at the marquee where everything from the decor and table settings, dressing and the food were typically western. There was even a cake cutting and ring ceremonies usually associated with Christian weddings.
The Malawi Police Band performed both local and British classic instrumentals to provide a befitting VIP musical background to the ceremony, while a new band called Noophiya Sound Vibrations perfomed several Lhomwe beats and common Malawian wedding songs. Joseph Tembo, Joseph Nkasa, Billy Kaunda and Mayi Margaret Chiponda of the Angwazi Sendera fame also performed at the function.
At one point, Mutharika and Callista displayed their joy by taking it to the dance floor where his children, family members and guests spent almost 20 minutes dancing to an interlude of music that turned the whole event into a frenzy of excitement and jubilation.
Benedicto Okam atani Malunga’s poem, in which he connected Bingu and Callista through their cultural backgrounds in Thyolo and Zomba with his descriptions of customs, foods, places and traditions practiced there, briefly restored some cultural taste to the event. Traditional dances from various parts of the country also dominated towards the end.
Typical of Malawian wedding and engagement ceremonies, a pelekani-pelekani (gift offering) procedure was part of the ceremony and high ranking officials outdid each other in splashing bank notes to the couple.
Vice President Joyce Banda and her husband Richard had to request a special time during which presented their special gift besides splashing money to the newly engaged couple.
Tradition or exotic, the event nevertheless lived up to its billing as a royal chinkhoswe with a sophisticated atmosphere and good organisation. About 1,000 guests attended the function where sumptuous food and liquor were all abundance.
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