Stranger than fiction: Going behind the Nyau masquerade

 

Frightened children and women scamper for cover as a group of semi-naked men with scary masks approaches.
Animated screams are cut off as doors are firmly shut.
Children are taught never to come face-to-face with this group, which is known to beat people severely.
These are the Nyau brotherhood, a secret society of mostly initiated Chewa men.
The Nyau are popular for the Gule Wamkulu dance, which is also common in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique.
In Zimbabwe, the Nyau are mostly found among Malawian immigrant communities.
Nyau plays an important role in the Chewa traditional and religious beliefs.
They are the ones mandated with burying the dead, and it is believed they can communicate with the after-life.
On public holidays, anniversaries and at funerals, initiated members perform Gule Wamkulu, “Great Dance” in Chewa.
Gule Wamkulu is also performed following a harvest, accompanying initiation ceremonies, weddings, and installations and deaths of chiefs.
On such occasions, Nyau dancers wear costumes and masks made of wood and grass, representing a variety of characters such as wild animals and spirits of the dead.
Often viewed with suspicion by outsiders, the Nyau and their rituals are widely misunderstood.
It is widely believed that bizarre things happen during the society’s secret initiation ceremonies. Weird sexual activities are said to occur, including drinking animal blood and consuming raw chickens.
Pregnant women are strictly forbidden from approaching the dancers, lest their pregnancies “disappear”.
The initiation rites reportedly include initiates living in a cemetery for up to two weeks.
On joining, new members are allegedly beaten and whipped.
Another account has it that an injury inflicted by the Nyau will never heal.
The Nyau character known as “Kampini”, which the Chewa believe can kill people, is the most feared.
But are the Nyau capable of making a pregnancy “disappear”? Do injuries they inflict never heal?
Getting answers is an impossible task: The secretive Nyau fiercely guard their identities and traditions.