Mulhako wa Alhomwe festival to have other tribes: K60m budget

Mulhako wa Alhomwe cultural heritage is set to celebrate seven years of its existence on October 26 in Mulanje where they have invited other cultural tribes to interact and showcase their cultural aspects and activities.

Organisers of the event said they have includes other tribes as one way of creating platform for cultural exchange.

Vice chairperson for media committee in the organizing committee for Mulhako wa Alhomwe, Villant Jana disclosed this in an interview with Nyasa Times in Blantyre as the preparations for the event are at an advanced stage.

She said this year’s activities will see performances and exhibitions from other cultural groupings like Ngonis, Sena and others visitors from Mozambique and Zambia.

Vice chairperson of catering committee, Pilirani Vokhiwa said this year’s event budget has been pegged at K60 million from last year’s K45 million  as they are expecting to have more people this year.

Meanwhile, Malawi President Peter Mutharika will on Friday, October 10 be the Guest of Honour at a fundraising dinner dance for Mulhakho wa Alhomwe at College of Medicine Sports Complex in Blantyre.

Mutharika will install chief Ngongoliwa of Thyolo district to Traditional Authority to be the first Traditional Authority for Lomwe tribe.

The grouping which was established in order to provide exposure and preserve the Lhomwe cultural customs have not indicated whether at the festival there will be the annual Mulhakho ‘s ‘reed dance’ when topless girls dance before the patrons.

The establishment of Mulhako wa Alhomwe brought animosity among non-Lhomwe Malawians who deemed the organization as an ‘employment bureau’ aimed at catapulting the Lhomwes to influential positions in the DPP government.

However, the accusations were denied saying the Lhomwes came up with the grouping to follow the footsteps of what other tribes like Ngonis and Chewas are already doing in keeping their respective cultures alive.

The Lhomwes are largely found in Phalombe, Mulanje, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Zomba and Machinga and they are identified according to their dialects namely Amihavan, Amanyawa, Amaratha, Alikhuku, Amarevoni, Amahito, Amakuwa, Anyamwello, Amuhipiti, Ameeto, Akhokhola, Amihekani, Amalokot, Anguru and Atakhwani.