Lhomwes geared for Ngolongoliwa coronation as Paramount Chief

Laelo Costa Juma, who is now Senior Chief Ngolongoliwa of the Lhomwe tribe, will on Sunday, May 28, 2017, be elevated to Paramount Chief.

The event to celebrate the elevation of the Senior Chief will take place at Mulhakho wa a Lhomwe Headquarters at Chonde in Mulanje.

In an interview Mulhakho wa a Lhomwe National Publicity Secretary, Dickson Makhumba said preparations for the event are underway and they are doing all they can to make the celebrations beautiful and memorable.

“We believe it will be a colorful event because we are putting in all our efforts. The President of Malawi himself will be there to elevate Ngolongoliwa to Paramount Chief and this is a great honor to us as Lhomwes,” said Makhumba.

Makhumba pointed out that different cultural groups from across the country have been invited to grace the celebrations.

“Different invited cultural groups will not be there as officials; they will be there to spice up the event by showcasing their own cultural activities like dances. We have arranged a number of activities including traditional dances to spice up the event. Traditional Lhomwe food will also be there to be enjoyed by those in attendance,” commented Makhumba who also pointed out that Chief Mutharika of Mozambique will also be at the event.

The National Publicity Secretary also pointed out that there is a cloth (Chitenje) specially made for the event and it is being sold across the country.

He said the chitenje is there to make the event colorful and it is also being sold as one way of fundraising for the celebrations.

Makhumba said the Lhomwe tribe is very grateful to President Peter Mutharika for making the decision to elevate Senior Chief Ngolongoliwa to Paramout Chief.

“After the death of Paramount Mkumba, we never had another paramount chief from the Lhomwe Tribe and this upcoming event is such an honor to us,” said Makhumba.

Makhumba also said that the Lhomwe tribe believes that when Ngolongoliwa becomes Paramount Chief, he will further elevate the Lhomwe Culture.

“Paramount Chief is the highest position in the chieftainship hierarchy and Ngolongoliwa being elevated to such a high office means that our culture will greatly be preserved. We hope that the soon to be Paramount Chief Ngolongoliwa will take a step further in making sure that Lhomwe youths are well educated about the roots of their culture because a nation without the knowledge of their culture is a dead nation,” commented Makhumba.

He pointed out that youths from countries like; Botswana and Swaziland are well educated about their culture and it is sad that most Malawian youths put little or no attention at their cultural roots and practices.

“Every human being is known by his or her culture and so we all need to be proud of our different cultures. The youths have to take a leading role,” said Makhhumba.

In February 2016, Laelo Costa Juma was elevated from Traditional Authority (T/A) to Senior Chief Ngolongoliwa.

 

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