An African Worldview: the Muslim Amacinga Yawo of Southern Malawi

Released in March 2012 by Malawian-based Kachere Series, An African Worldview: the Muslim Amacinga Yawo of Southern Malawi is a 510-page work focusing on the life and culture of the Amacinga Yawo people. (Copies can be purchased at bookstores throughout Malawi where Kachere materials are sold, as well as ordered online at Amazon and other retailers OR through contacting this website. E-book editions to follow.)

About the Book

In this book Ian Dicks informs the reader about the ways in which the Yawo of Malawi view the world. The Yawo are predominantly Muslim, yet many maintain strong links with their traditional religion. They are a largely oral society, teaching and reinforcing their beliefs and practices using oral literature, which includes myths, proverb, proverbial stories, songs of advice and prayers at various stages of the life cycle, particularly during initiation events.

Ian Dicks describes in detail the Yawo’s material world, customs, beliefs and rituals, and juxtaposes these with Yawo oral literature. He then examines them under six worldview categories, the result being a rich description of the way in which the Yawo see the world. This book is not an armchair study but has the feel of being written by an eyewitness, by someone who has had first-hand experience of the subject and who seeks to describe this in a manner which is sensitive to the Yawo and their culture.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   Different ways to give a gift!
   The need for understanding worldview
   The Muslim Yawo
   Theoretical perspective
   People of influence
   The book’s structure
   Orthography
2. Worldview
   Worldview: The development of the concept
   Worldview: The eighteenth century until the twenty-first century
   Towards a definition of worldview and its function in life
   The function of worldview
   What shapes a worldview?
   What changes worldview?
   Understanding worldview in order to bring about change
   Worldview categories
3. The material world, customs and rituals of the Muslim Amacinga Yawo
   Material culture and customs
   Social system
   Yawo religious structure and practice
   Amacinga Yawo traditional religion
   Rituals and ceremonies
   Yawo leadership
   Boy’s rite of passage: Jando
   Birth rites: Litiwo
   Girl’s rite of passage: Msondo
   Funeral: Malilo
4. Yawo Islam and Islamized Yawo: the little and the great tradition
   The Establishment of Islam amongst the Yawo
   Types of Religious Systems
   The Stages of Yawo Islamization
   Differences between the Qadiriyya and the Sukuti
5. Toward a hermeneutic of Yawo oral literature
   Introduction
   Toward an understanding of the Yawo proverb
   Interpreting the Yawo proverb
   Toward an understanding of Yawo narrative
   Interpreting Yawo narrative
   Toward an understanding of Yawo initiation songs
   Interpreting the Yawo initiation songs
   Toward an understanding of Yawo traditional prayers
6. Toward an understanding of a Yawo worldview
   Self
   Allegiance
   Causality
   Time
   Space
   Classification

Appendices : Introduction
Appendix 1 : Corpus of Yitagu ni Adisi
Appendix 2 : Corpus of Adisi
Appendix 3 : Corpus of Ngani Sya Kalakala
Appendix 4 : Corpus of Misyungu ja Jando
Appendix 5 : Corpus of Misyungu ja Msondo
Appendix 6 : Corpus of Misyungu ja Litiwo
Appendix 7 : Corpus of Misyungu Ja Ucimwene
Appendix 8 : Corpus of Mapopelo
Appendix 9 : Types of Religious Groups in T.A. Jalasi
Appendix 9a : Survey of Islamic groups in T.A. Jalasi 2007
Appendix 9b : Survey of Islamic groups in T.A. Jalasi 2008