Students in Malawi wrote essays about Kasiyamaliro, the antelope mask, its ceremonial dances, and Nyau, the Chewa men’s society that conducts young boys’ initiation rites and is associated with the mask.

“Boys under 11 years must be sent to Nyau where they learn traditional customs of their forefathers,” student Mackson Msokera explains. Through the rites, men help adolescents mature into responsible adults, both accountable to and active in their local communities.

Here are excerpts from the students’ essays:

“When there is death, the burial ceremony is done by Gule Wamkulu [masqueraders]. This dance is for spirits.”
Jephter Banda

“I feel and believe the Kasiyamaliro is a kind of transfigured ancestral spirit as it is said by the elders of the dance.”
Matthews Msatsi

“The mask brings out trouble, danger, and happiness among the people.”
Mackson Msokera

“Nyau dance is deteriorating since people are forsaking their culture, which is not good at all!”
Jimmi Njirisi

“When I see this mask I feel happy that my tribe ‘CHEWA’ is existing, since each tribe is best known by its culture.”
Postani Kawala