The examination
It is important to bear in mind that spirit
possession, as we have already seen, is only one aspect of a long process of B i m b i - m a k i n g . After the ritual
of immersion in the waters of the Shire w h i c h at that point is commonly known as the 'Lake* is over, the
candidate undergoes a rigorous examination to test his credentials. Apart from answering correctly to the questions set before him he must prove by a sign or signs that he is a genuine Bimbi. If the candidate answers correctly in the manner of the former Bimbi and performs a miracle, then he receives social recognition proper to people occupying that position. This seems to be in line w i t h Weber's contention that it is
social recognition on the part of the subjects which is decisive for the validity of charismatic authority. This is said to be freely given and guaranteed by what is held to be a sign or proof, originally always a miracle and consists in devotion to the corresponding revelation, hero worship or absolute trust in the
n * 30 l e a d e r .
The testing happens at night at about'6.00pm in the shrine at Mponda. When the new Bimbi and the people reach the shrine they take off their upper
garments and the liturgical dialogue between the people and the new Bimbi begins. The testing is conducted by che ku-Tambala. This ritual is called milawe which I translate here as seance. The following account remembered by Ali Nyama and verified by Abasi Tambala is said to have taken place when Akumbirika Mtsamila II was made Bimbi in 1927 and considered as the standard
f o r m a t . Bimbi inside Ku-Tambala Bimbi Ku-Tambala Bimbi
I have come I Mtsamila [if she is female] or I have come I Mchinjika
[if he is male] "Are you Bimbi?" "Yes, I am Bimbi".
"If you are Bimbi we shall see. What did you see in the waters?"
"I saw the spirits of my ancestors in the w a t e r ".
Ku-Tambala Bimbi Ku-Tambala Bimbi Ku-Tambala Bimbi
"Can you tell us who they were?" "Yes, they were Sokopio, Namanje,
31 Chibalala, Nyangu and M k u l u k u t w a " .
"What have they told you?"
"Th^y have told me that I am the new Bimbi. This year there will be very dangerous rains. There will be
lightning. People who live near rivers must move away because there will be floods. There will be heavy rains
and a lot of water. This is the message I received from my ancestor's spirits. Anyone who fails to take my word
seriously will be killed either by flood or lightning. My ancestors also told me to ask the Paramount chief to bring here a piece of black c l o t h " .
"What will happen if we bring to you a piece of black cloth?"
"It will rain and you will leave this place w e t " .
The people bring a piece of black cloth to test him. The Bimbi covers the shrine with the black cloth. It
suddenly thunders. Rain falls heavily.
Ku-Tambala
Bimbi
Ku-Tambala
"We now believe that you are Bimbi. Can you tell us what will happen tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow you can move in the morning but not in the afternoon. There will be heavy rain till late evening.
Tomorrow there will be plenty of fish in the rivers. You will be catching them with your hands in the flooded f i e l d s " .
"Can you tell us what the weather shall be like this year? Can you tell us what will happen this year?"
Bimbi "This year there shall be plenty of
rain or this year there will be drought. This year such and such a thing will happen. People should plant on such and such a date because the rain will be g o o d " .
When this has been said and the questioning time is over che Ku-Tambala and the people go back to their respective villages. Meanwhile Bimbi himself remains in seclusion in the shrine for some days. When the rainy season approaches che Ku-Tambala again goes to see Bimbi again and tells him that people in the land want to start planting. Bimbi would tell him to tell people to wait until the second rains come because that will be the best rain, or he may tell Ku-Tambala to plant at the first rains.
If the prophecy of the person claiming to be Bimbi is fulfilled during that rainy season then people take him for granted to be Bimbi. Che ku-Tambala does not examine the claimant to Bimbiship by himself,
33 alone. He does this with the help of village headmen, around the Bimbi village in order for them to be
witnesses of what is being said by the Bimbi elect and also to be witnesses in the future w hen prophecies made by Bimbi are fulfilled or not fulfilled. During the rainy season, it is these village headmen led by ku-Tambala who go to Bimbi to enquire about rain from him. They watch whether or not his prophecies are going to be fulfilled. If these prophecies are not fulfilled then the people discover that the claimant
34 to Bimbiship is a fake and is accordingly rejected. So far, however, we have no specific examples of this happening in real life as described above.
It is interesting to note that the idea of subjecting the new Bimbi to a rigorous test in order to prove his call is not peculiar to the Bimbi cult. In fact it was the standard procedure for selecting
the successor to the position of Makewana at the older Shrine at Msinja in central Malawi. W.H. Rangeley has documented that on the death of Makewana, who was
never referred to as having died because God cannot die, there was considerable delay until a new Makewana appeared. He writes:
"Mangadzi [Makewana] was a woman of the Phiri clan. After her death a woman of any clan might be Makewana. A new
Makewana was found when a woman appeared at Msinja and uttered strange prophecies
[k u b w e b w e t a ] and behaved in a manner to show that the spirits had entered her. She had furthermore to answer
satisfactorily questions put to her by the Msinja functionaries, led by Kamundi. If she was satisfactory in all respects she was led to the hut of Makewana and entered there in and
commenced their duties ... An impostor found false on inquiry had stones fastened about her neck and she was thrown into the Diampwe R i v e r " .35
Rangeley's account is supported by that of R i t a - F e r r e i r a . According to him a number of rival candidates normally appeared after the death of Makewana. These behaved as if they had been possessed by the spirits. They were put under a difficult test and if they proved to
3 6 be impostors they were d r o w n e d .
Bimbi oral traditions are silent on the kind of punishment inflicted on those w hom at one point or another are proved to be i m p o s t o r s . Much of the information I collected from my informers indicated that no physical harm is caused to them. When such people are found out only become a laughing stock and rejected by the society at large. They eventually become social isolates.
The coming out ceremony
w h i c h the Bimbi is believed to enter into communion w ith his or her ancestral spirits, the ritual of the
coming out ceremony from the shrine follows. This is another important step in the transitional processes to Bimbiship. A crowd of people from the surrounding villages led by ku-Tambala and other senior members of the Bimbi lineage go to the shrine. They are required to take off their upper garments before they reach there.
37
They take with them a young girl who has not yet reached puberty. At this ritual the girl is said to be ritually married to Bimbi. And it is her duty to take him out of the shrine and back to the v i l l a g e .
When ku-Tambala, the elders and the people go to the shrine the girl carries a basket of ufa wa mapira (sorghum f l o u r ) . A few things must be said here before proceeding f u r t h e r . First and foremost the involvement of the young girl in this ritual is highly symbolic. J.C. Cirlot has indicated that a child is a symbol of the future as opposed to the old man who signifies the past. And not only that the child is also symbolic of that stage of life when the old man transformed acquires a new simplicity. But far and above the child is symbolic of the mystic centre and
3 8
as the youthful reawakening force. The association therefore, between the new Bimbi and the young girl is very significant. Having died to the old self it is not surprising then that a new beginning is required in the social-sexual life of the Bimbi full of mystic
power and life in its fulness.
The basket too which the young girl carries is also pregnant with symbolic meaning. Ad de Vries has indicated that the basket is a symbol of fertility in
39
general. It stands for the maternal body, therefore used here to enhance the notion of productivity of the mother earth through the symbolic act of ritual marriage between the young girl and the Bimbi.
It is interesting to note that Sorghum dochna
(mapira) is commonly used in the traditional offerings 40 to the deity among the Chewa of the Upper Shire Valley. Its significance; however, is not yet fully understood. My own impression is that since mapira is drought
resistant, mapira flour in the hands of the young girl may be a symbol of preservation.
Once at the shrine ku-Tambala and all the people with him stand outside and sing a song called n g a y a y e . They sing as the girl goes inside thus:
Ngayaye, tiye kumudzi [brother let us go home ]
Ngayaye tiye kumudzi [brother let us go h o m e ] .
In this song they invite the Bimbi to come out from the shrine and go home to the village. As people sing and clap their hands it is believed that a snake spirit, a python, comes out from the shrine t o g e t h e r 'with the girl and the new Bimbi. According to Anubi Chipande CheKwenda this python is the spirit of one of the eldest members of the Bimbi lineage called Bongwe
41 and which inhabits the shrine from times immemorial. Once outside, the Bimbi, the girl and the python - Bongwe - go several times round the shrine while the
girl keeps on supplying the snake spirit with some flour. All this time the people are said to be still standing outside singing and clapping their hands. After several rounds the Bimbi, the snake spirit and the girl go
inside the shrine again and once there the girl holds the Bimbi by hand and asks him to come out and go with her to the village. Ali Nyama maintains that if the spirits are willing the Bimbi goes out forthwith. But sometimes he is held up by the spirits until late
42