Black Missionaries

Last updated

Black Missionaries are a popular reggae band from Malawi.

Contents

The band is primarily active in the city of Blantyre, and members reside in Chileka. The band originally had five members, namely Evison Matafale, Peter Amidu, and three of the seven sons of Robert Fumulani: Musamude, Anjilu, and Chizondi. [1] Currently only three of the founding members are living, after the leader and founder Evison Matafale was killed whilst in police custody on November 7, 2001. Musamude Fumulani died on 17 September 2007 of TB.

Black Missionaries have released ten albums, KuimbaIII - XII, and perform in concerts across the country, often singing about love and Rastafari issues.

Matafale and The Black Missionaries were coming from the Chiwembe where they had a live show and they were to go to their home land Singano Village (Chileka) but on their way they encountered a road block for Malawi police.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

The History of Malawi covers the area of present-day Malawi. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. In colonial times, the territory was ruled by the British, under whose control it was known first as British Central Africa and later Nyasaland. It became part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The country achieved full independence, as Malawi, in 1964. After independence, Malawi was ruled as a one-party state under Hastings Banda until 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nyasaland</span> British protectorate from 1907 to 1964

Nyasaland was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After the Federation was dissolved, Nyasaland became independent from Britain on 6 July 1964 and was renamed Malawi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hastings Banda</span> Malawian government leader (c. 1898 – 1997)

Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the prime minister and later president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Central Africa Protectorate</span> British protectorate from 1893 to 1907

The British Central Africa Protectorate (BCA) was a British protectorate proclaimed in 1889 and ratified in 1891 that occupied the same area as present-day Malawi: it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907. British interest in the area arose from visits made by David Livingstone from 1858 onward during his exploration of the Zambezi area. This encouraged missionary activity that started in the 1860s, undertaken by the Universities' Mission to Central Africa, the Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland, and which was followed by a small number of settlers. The Portuguese government attempted to claim much of the area in which the missionaries and settlers operated, but this was disputed by the British government. To forestall a Portuguese expedition claiming effective occupation, a protectorate was proclaimed, first over the south of this area, then over the whole of it in 1889. After negotiations with the Portuguese and German governments on its boundaries, the protectorate was formally ratified by the British government in May 1891.

Music of Malawi has historically been influenced through its triple cultural heritage of British, African, and American music. Malawians have long been travelers and migrant workers, and as a result, their music has spread across the African continent and blended with other music forms. One of the prime historical causes of the Malawian musical melting pot was World War II, when soldiers both brought music to distant lands and also brought them back. By the end of the war, guitar and banjo duos were the most popular type of dance bands. Both instruments were imported. Malawians working in the mines in South Africa and Mozambique also led to fusion and blending in music styles, giving rise to music styles like Kwela.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blantyre</span> Place in Southern Region, Malawi

Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants as of 2018. It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is the capital of the country's Southern Region as well as the Blantyre District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chileka International Airport</span> Airport in Malawi

Chileka International Airport is an international airport in Malawi. It is located approximately 13 km, by road, northwest of Blantyre, the second largest city in the Republic of Malawi and the country's commercial and financial capital. Chileka is Malawi's second international airport, the other being Kamuzu International Airport, in Lilongwe, the nation's capital city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilembwe uprising</span> Rebellion against colonial rule (1915)

The Chilembwe uprising was a rebellion against British colonial rule in Nyasaland which took place in January 1915. It was led by John Chilembwe, an American-educated Baptist minister. Based around his Church in the village of Mbombwe in the south-east of the protectorate, the leaders of the revolt were mainly from an emerging black middle class. They were motivated by grievances against the colonial system including forced labour, racial discrimination, and new demands imposed on the indigenous population following the outbreak of World War I.

Blantyre is a district in the Southern Region of Malawi. The capital is Blantyre, a commercial city where most Malawian industrial and business offices are. The district covers an area of 2,012 km² and has a population of 809,397. It was named after Blantyre, the birth village of David Livingstone in Scotland, one of the first missionary explorers who came to Nyasaland, as Malawi was called before independence in 1964. It is also a main trading point besides the other large cities in Malawi. The other large cities are Lilongwe, which is located in the central region, and Mzuzu, which is in the northern part of Malawi.

The Church of the Province of Central Africa is part of the Anglican Communion, and includes 15 dioceses in Botswana, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The Primate of the Church is the Archbishop of Central Africa. Albert Chama is the current archbishop, being installed on 20 March 2011, succeeding Bernard Amos Malango who retired in 2007. From 1980 to 2000, Walter Khotso Makhulu, a noted Anti-Apartheid activist, was Archbishop as well as Bishop of Botswana. Archbishop Chama continues to serve as Bishop of Northern Zambia, and is the second Zambian to be Archbishop of Central Africa.

The Very Best is a collaboration between London-based DJ and production duo Radioclit and Esau Mwamwaya, a singer from Lilongwe, Malawi. Their music has been described as an Afro-Western mix of dance, hip hop, pop, and the traditional music of Malawi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Evison</span> American writer

Jonathan Evison is an American writer known for his novels All About Lulu, West of Here, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!, Lawn Boy, Legends of the North Cascades, and most recently Small World. His work, often distinguished by its emotional resonance and offbeat humor, has been compared by critics to a variety of authors, most notably J.D. Salinger, Charles Dickens, T.C. Boyle, and John Irving. Sherman Alexie has called Evison "the most honest white man alive."

Chiwembe is a township in southern Malawi. It is situated approximately 1.5 kilometres (1 mi) south of the town of Limbe and 13 km (8 mi) from Blantyre, Malawi's biggest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universities' Mission to Central Africa</span> Former Anglo-Catholic missionary society

The Universities' Mission to Central Africa was a missionary society established by members of the Anglican Church within the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, and Dublin. It was firmly in the Anglo-Catholic tradition of the Church, and the first to devolve authority to a bishop in the field rather than to a home committee. Founded in response to a plea by David Livingstone, the society established the mission stations that grew to be the bishoprics of Zanzibar and Nyasaland, and pioneered the training of black African priests.

Robert Fumulani was a musician, nightclub owner, and businessman in Malawi. He fronted the Likhubula River Dance Band, known for its Afroma ("Afro-Malawi") funk rock reggae fusion.

Evison Matafale was a Malawian Rastafarian whose music rose to popularity in Malawi. He was the founder and leader of the reggae band Black Missionaries. Matafale rose to fame and became one of Malawi's favourite musicians by 2000 through the release of his debut album, Kuimba 1, in 1999 with Wailing Brothers Band. Matafale was known as "the prophet" in Malawi and was seen as an elder amongst the community of Malawian Rastafarians.

The Blackman's Church of Africa Presbyterian is an independent Presbyterian denomination in Malawi. Each of its three founding pastors had been educated at the Livingstonia, Malawi mission and ordained as ministers of the Scottish missionary-led Presbyterian church based there. Although the Livingstonia mission was transferred to its present site in 1878, the missionaries were very cautious about ordaining African ministers. A theological course was established there in 1896 to train African ministers and the first two students completed it by 1900, but the first ordinations were not carried out until 1914. Of the students involved in the course between 1900 and 1914, only around half were ever ordained, on average, about ten years after completing the course, the other half were suspended, resigned or died. Donald Fraser, one of the leading Scottish missionaries, considered that the theological education of African candidates for ordination was insufficient without an "established christian character", which could only be proven through a lengthy probation. Although all three of the founders were ordained, all fell foul of the church establishment and left to form independent churches.

Operation Sunrise was the name given to a police and military action conducted by the authorities in the Central African protectorate of Nyasaland which started on 3 March 1959, initially to detain and intern 350 individuals who were considered a potential threat to law and order in anticipation of the declaration of a State of Emergency. Although it is sometimes considered to involve only the incidents of 3 March, the Devlin Commission report is clear that it was one of two distinct operations by the security forces, reinforced from outside Nyasaland, involving the arrest and detention members of the Nyasaland African Congress. It involved not only those members of Congress initially arrested, but others arrested and detained without trial in the course of the emergency. The operation was described in some detail in the Devlin Commission report and that account has been amplified by Colonial Office documents not made available to the Devlin Commission.

Donald Kachamba (1953–2001) was a Malawian musician, composer and bandleader.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Malawi refers to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members in Malawi. The first convert baptisms were performed in 1992. In 2021, there were 3,612 members in 12 congregations. Malawi was one of the fastest growing countries for LDS Church membership over the past decade.

References

  1. Matthew LaVoie, "Musical Sunshine from Malawi" [ permanent dead link ], VOA News, February 26, 2008. Accessed 13 June 2010.