The Kungoni Centre of Culture & Art, located at Mua Mission in Malawi’s Central region, was established in 1976. It is recognised as a place where the richness of Malawi’s cultural heritage is unveiled. Its goal is to guide Malawians to a deeper understanding of their country and culture. This understanding is crucial as Malawi faces the challenges of globalisation and modernisation.
To meet its goal, Kungoni offers a variety of services and activities, including:
- The Chamare ethnographic Museum, which interprets the local Chewa, Ngoni and Yao cultures.
- Cultural courses, workshops and training seminars (to both national and international audiences) on Malawian culture, history and inculturation. This is also offered to students and newly arrived Missionaries of Africa in Malawi.
- Traditional music and dance performed by Kungoni Cultural Troupe.
- The art and carving centre, which supports over 100 local families and produces internationally acclaimed carvings.
- Centre of Women Development (known as Kumbewu), which supports women in the community and focuses on training and empowering women.
- Educational visits are arranged for schools ranging from primary up to university level
- Language courses are offered to missionaries who wish to become fluent in Chichewa. It is also possible to provide lessons at the conversational level.
- Accommodation is available for those who wish to have more time for an in-depth understanding of Malawian culture and history
- We have an archive centre which hosts a small library and a large collection of historical and cultural material in various formats
The founder of the centre, Fr Claude Boucher Chisale, a priest of the Missionaries of Africa, passed away in 2024. For 50 years he had built up a close relationship with the local communities and earned their respect. This allowed him the privilege of having access to many of their oral traditions passed down through the generations. Having spent years collecting and compiling information on the Chewa people he eventually published a book on Gule Wamkulu entitled “When Animals Sing, and Spirits Dance.” This book explores the many layers of meaning incorporated into this special Chewa dance.
Every year in the first week of August, Kungoni Centre of Culture & Art organises a cultural festival. It begins with either an inter-religious prayer service or a Eucharistic celebration. It is then followed by a wide variety of traditional dances, drama and song. performed to both a national and international audiences.
From 2009 Kungoni Centre of Culture & Art embarked on a Capacity Enhancement and Outreach Project which focused its efforts on the following activities:
- DVD production of traditional songs and dances.
- Women Development Centre.
- Cultural Dancing Troupe.
The overall purpose of the project was to raise consciousness and appreciation of the richness and intricacies of Malawian culture. The project was a success in that more cultural DVD’s were produced, the Women Development Centre was improved and its activities increased, the showroom for carvings was reconstructed, the dancing arena for the Cultural Troupe was renovated to accommodate more people, and more regalia and costumes for the dance troupe were purchased.
Over the years an overarching theme has been the desire to promote dialogue between culture and faith. This has led to many inculturated liturgies and performances. Art in its various mediums has also been an important tool in forwarding this objective. Our Kungoni team believes that art can help highlight contemporary issues facing the Malawian people and encourage discussion about these topics such as witchcraft, interreligious dialogue, poverty, family concerns and just some beautiful pieces of art.
The present director of the centre is Fr Brendan O’Shea M.Afr. and the financial administrator is Br Lema Eshetu Dadi M.Afr.
E mail: kungoni@gmail.com
Website: kungoni.org
