More from the weekend

For those of you that still do not know where in the world I am right now, I thought it time to provide you with some maps. Malawi's neighbors are Zambia, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

This past weekend, Ankoor and I went on a circle tour between Blantyre (where I live and work), Cape Maclear, Mumbo Island (which you already heard about), Mua, and Dedza. Dedza is basically due west of Cape Maclear on the Mozambique border and Mua lies about half way in between the two.
Cape Maclear: We stayed at Gecko Lodge nestled into the small, poverty stricken beach village. Within feet of the the Lodge's restaurant, women and children bathe in the lake and do the dishes after each meal. I couldn't help but watch in awe of the simplicity and beauty of the Malawians. I felt like an intruder, but I couldn't stop admiring the life that was going on down the beach from me. On the day that the rainbow appeared, there was also an island of grass and weeds that the storm had brought in. 15 Malawian men stood on the beach and discussed how to move this gigantic island...unexpected, but welcomed work on a beautiful Sunday.

Mua: We stayed at the Mua Mission in the middle of a unique town that became the site for catholic missionaries nearly 40 years ago. Because of the Vatacan II policy of "culturalization" (I think that's what it is anyway) many of the traditional tribal customs have been transformed to have a Christian spin. The missionaries started a museum in the town that gave me the greatest look into pre-colonization Malawi that I've had so far. I learned about the 3 main tribes that inhabited Malawi (and still do); the Chewa, the Yao, and the Ngoni. We were lead through rooms that had dioramas rich in color and tradition. The room for the Chewa (the main tribe of Malawi) had many masks with vibrant colors that are worn during spiritual rituals allowing the mask wearers to become the spirits which the masks represent. Ankoor and I learned how each of these unique cultures have traditions rich in ceremonies that show strong roots in community and family. We weren't allowed to take pictues of the rooms with tribal artifacts, so I cannot show you...sorry.

Dedza: This was a quick day trip to pick up some world famous pottery (http://www.dedzapottery.com/index.html) and eat a quick lunch in a cute cafe. It was a great way to end a pretty perfect weekend.

That was a long post...thanks for sticking with it. I wrote this before uploading pictures, so I will put pictures in the next post because it's just easier that way.