Music in Mission/Colonial Education

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Personal Motivation

Music education in Malawi is in a crisis. There has been little, if any, implementation of ideas on music education by the government and policy makers to make music an essential part of primary, secondary and teachers’ training education. As a result, there is a chronic marginalization of music education in the course of developing or reviewing the national curriculum; and in allocating budgets or providing resource materials for subjects in education. The consequence of marginalizing music education has been lack of trained and qualified music teachers in primary, secondary and teachers’ training education. In turn, there is no teaching of music in the primary, secondary and teachers’ training education in the country. Chancellor College, one of the four constituent colleges of the University of Malawi, is the only institution of higher learning that offers studies in music. Through the Faculty of Education, Chancellor College prepares and produces secondary school teachers. However, the ‘route map’ of the Faculty of Education discourages education students to study music to degree level because music in the Malawian education is a ‘non-examinable subject’.

Exclusion of Achewa Music in Schools

As noted in Section 2.2, the literature establishes that the purpose, outcome, content and methodology of music in education have always been Western in mission/colonial schools. In the context of Achewa of central Malawi, Steytler (1939:197) shows that Chinyanja, also known as Chichewa or Nyanja (vernacular language of Achewa), was the only aspect of Achewa culture which was included in music education. In his study of Achewa, Steytler observes that the missionaries excluded Achewa music in education. Instead, they encouraged the Achewa to compose Chinyanja words to fit Western tunes which were the content of music in schools. This implies that the missionaries denied the Achewa school children the chance to practise and develop their potential in composing ethnic tunes. Below is an example of a French folk tune called Frére Jacques (Brother John) which was set to Chinyanja words with the title Yafa Nkhumba (The Pig is Dead). This tune is selected and discussed because its origin is traceable. As a school child in standard one, I sang the song as a two part round at Chikowi primary school in southern Malawi.

Negative Attitude towards Indigenous Music

Ross (1996:81) observes, “Christianity came to Malawi during the heyday of the Western imperialism and social Darwinism, when there was a powerful tendency to consider African culture and religion to be primitive and backward”. The Christian tendency to believe that Malawian culture is primitive has divided Malawians in the way they view ethnic music. The research I did in 1998 among the converted Yao Moslems of Mpili area in Machinga district indicates that some Moslems followed and still follow Chinasala’s view (i.e. the Islamic view) of Yao indigenous songs, dances and music instruments as ‘passports to hell’. This kind of view was and is held by some Christians and it has created controversies among Christians about ethnic music. Soko (1986:10) discusses that the colonial administrators and the missionaries gave powers to Malawian chiefs to arrest vimbuza dancers as well as to confiscate their drums. Vimbuza is a dance that helps to cure spirit illnesses among the Ngoni and Tumbuka people in northern Malawi. But, Christians who were found participating in vimbuza dance were excommunicated from the church. Kamlongera et al (1992:99-105) note that both the Europeans and the European minded Malawians persecuted indigenous music in the colonial era. Jones (1936:1) stated, nearly seventy years ago, that Westerners are predisposed to think that their own music is the only real music, while other music is barbaric and less perfect.

Positive Attitude towards Indigenous Music

As noted in Section 2.2.1, each missionary group prepared a Malawian generation which denied its own indigenous music. However, the available literature also shows that some missionary leaders encouraged their converts to use their ethnic tunes for church music. William Koyi and Donald Fraser of the Synod of Livingstonia Church of Central Africa Presbyterian included indigenous tunes in worship. In his preface, Colvin (1997) discusses that William Koyi, the South African Xhosa evangelist, initiated indigenous hymn writing in the church in northern Malawi. Although the writing of Malawian aural/oral music traditions compromised certain idioms of these traditions, the converts were not forbidden to make music of their cultural origin. Taylor (1959:3) notes that Donald Fraser, the Scottish missionary, encouraged the Christians to compose hymns from Ngoni “old fine tunes”. Between 1890 and 1900, Fraser consolidated and authenticated the indigenous tradition of Christian composition. Phiri (1975:49) observes that Donald Fraser held choir festivals where he introduced new hymns set to indigenous tunes and biblical stories. He also gave prizes to students who arranged hymns based on Ngoni songs. Mphande (1967/71:19) explains, “Scots missionaries admired Ngoni choral singing and encouraged Ngoni converts like Daniel Nhlane to take melodies from the tribal stock, even war songs, and create hymns”. But, there are no indications in the discussions of Colvin, Taylor, Phiri and Mphande that either show the kind of harmonic principles that the Christians applied in the indigenous tunes or whether Koyi and Fraser encouraged the integration of indigenous music in music education. However, Christians may have employed Western theory in harmonising the indigenous tunes because they received a Western music education.

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Research in Music Education

Several researchers in a variety of disciplines have studied indigenous songs, dances and music instruments of Malawi. The sub-discipline of music education, either Western or African, has been given less attention than fields such as musicology and ethnomusicology. Although Kubik (1974:72,75) lists Zanten (1971) and Hooker (1971) in his bibliography as writers on Malawian music education, published literature of these writers is not available in the national archives or libraries of the country. The available literature which was published in the colonial era shows that researchers did not orient their studies in the disciplinary area of music education. However, the contents of this literature may relate to matters of curriculum for music education.

Contents :

  • Acknowledgements
  • List of Acronyms and
  • Chapter One Research Outline
    • 1.1 Personal Motivation
    • 1.2 Malawi
    • 1.3 Need for the Thesis
      • 1.3.1 The Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC)Requirements
      • 1.3.2 The Malawi Institute of Education (MIE) Requirements
      • 1.3.3 The University of Malawi (UNIMA) Requirements
      • 1.3.4 The Expectations of the Primary Education Advisors (PEAs)
      • 1.3.5 The Expectations of Malawians
    • 1.4 Research Questions
      • 1.4.1 SubQuestion
      • 1.4.2 SubQuestion
      • 1.4.3 SubQuestion
    • 1.5 Aim
    • 1.6 Methodology
    • 1.7 Research Design
    • 1.8 Organization of the Thesis
    • 1.9 Delimitation of the Thesis
    • 1.10 Value of the Thesis
    • 1.11 Description of Terms
    • 1.12 Notes to the Reader
  • Chapter Two Literature Review
    • 2.1 Introduction of Western Music Education in Malawi
    • 2.2 Music in Mission/Colonial Education
    • 2.3 Exclusion of Achewa Music in Schools
    • 2.4 Application of Western Principles to Indigenous Music
    • 2.5 Dualistic Attitudes towards Indigenous Music
      • 2.5.1 Negative Attitude towards Indigenous Music
      • 2.5.2 Positive Attitude towards Indigenous Music
    • 2.6 Research in Music Education
    • 2.7 Summary
  • Chapter Three Music in Schools and Colleges
    • 3.1 Introduction
    • 3.2 Music in Primary Education
      • 3.2.1 Music Syllabus
      • 3.2.2 Music Teachers’ Guides
      • 3.2.3 Music for Economic Benefits
    • 3.3 Music in Secondary Education
    • 3.4 Music in Teachers’ Training Education
      • 3.4.1 Shortage of Music Lecturers
      • 3.4.2 Courses and Workshops for New and Inservice Teachers
    • 3.5 Summary
  • Chapter Four Analysis of Malawian Indigenous Music
    • 4.1 Introduction
    • 4.2 Approach to Analysis of Malawian Indigenous Music
    • 4.3 Philosophical Propositions for Modern Malawian Music Education
    • 4.4 Indigenous Music Theory
    • 4.5 Indigenous Music Performance Practice
    • 4.6 Children’s Music
    • 4.7 Educational Implications
    • 4.8 Summary
  • Chapter Five Conclusion and Recommendations
    • 5.1 Introduction
    • 5.2 Values and Roles of Indigenous Music
      • 5.2.1 Aural/Oral Knowledge and Skills
      • 5.2.2 Societal Civilization
      • 5.2.3 Collectivism
      • 5.2.4 Intellectual and Physical Development
      • 5.2.5 Medium for Moral Teaching
      • 5.2.6 Unifying Factors
      • 5.2.7 Resolves for Better Living
    • 5.3 Recommendations
      • 5.3.1 Advocacy for Music Education
      • 5.3.2 Teacher Training and Retraining
      • 5.3.3 Resource Materials
      • 5.3.4 Assessment
      • 5.3.5 Music for All
      • 5.3.6 Music for SelfExpression
      • 5.3.7 Music Officers
      • 5.3.8 Association for Music Teachers
      • 5.3.9 Modern Technology and Music Education
      • 5.3.10 Indigenous Music Theory
      • 5.3.11 Recommendation for Further Research
    • Appendixes
    • A.1 Appendix I A
    • A.2 Appendix II A
    • A.3 Appendix III A
    • List of Sources
    • S.1 Sources

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MUSIC EDUCATION IN MALAWI: THE CRISIS AND THE WAY FORWARD

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