The organisers of the Tumbuka cultural festival Gonapamuhanya in Rumphi have proposed 5 October as a date for this year’s celebrations.
Confirming the development to ProjectM, chairperson for the organising committee group Dr Jean Kumwenda Chilinda says the annual festival is expected to take place at Bolero headquarters in the district.
“All preparations for the event are going well, we have started receiving donations from stakeholders, hopefully this will be the best event,” she said.
She says the budget for this year’s event is pegged at K60 million.
This year’s event they are planning to showcase different Tumbuka cultural dances such as Mbotosya, Vimbuza, Mchimake just to mention a few.
“We have also added youths in this year’s event. We will invite those youths with urban songs which promote Tumbuka culture,” she added.
Dr Jean Kumwenda Chilinda said that they have also invited all Tumbuka Traditional leaders in Zambia and have confirmed to attend.
This year’s event will be celebrated under the theme of “Empowering Youth and Women to Development”.
The Gonapamuhanya cultural festival is an annual event celebrated by the Tumbuka people of Nkhamanga area in Rumphi, Malawi ¹. Here are some key points about the festival:
The festival commemorates the first Chikulamayembe, Gonapamuhanya, who settled in the area where the Chikulamayembe chieftaincy is today at Bolero in Rumphi District
The festival features the recounting of the history, economic activities, and lineage of Chikulamayembe, as well as traditional dances like Malipenga, Chioda, Mchoma, Vimbuza, Mbotosya, and Chikweta.
