How To Make It Rain; A Malawian Ancestral Story of Mbona the Rain Maker

The Rain, some take it casually, not realizing how essential it is for life, but others know all too well that rain means survival. In Some places rain comes so frequent or so much that it is taken for granted or people wished it rained less often, and in other places rain comes so little or not at all that livelihoods are destroyed.

 In places where rain is crucial you'll probably find people of great faiths devoted to rain, the rainmakers and rainmaking cults. There are various cults around the world that practice or practiced some sort of rainmaking rituals. The native Indians of North America had rain dances and similar practices occurred and still do in parts of Africa including Malawi.

Khulubvi sacred shrine is located in Nsanje District, in the lower Shire Valley in Southern Region of Malawi, It is an important spiritual place among the people of Mang'anja tribe. It is a place where the Mang'anja worship the spirit of Mbona.

Mbona was a legendary rain maker with superhuman powers who lived in Nsanje. He had knowledge of medicine and magic, and he had a gift bestowed onto him from the heavens to govern the rains. Apart from bringing rain, he could also create wells of water on sandy lands, create forests where they did not exist and hide from enemies by turning into other creatures such as guinea fowls. He had a wife named Salima who almost always stayed in the compound, only visited by elderly women and children. She ventured on a few occasions to some villages assisting Mbona on matters of divinity.

Mbona's uncle Mlauli, who was also a conjurer resented his nephew and wanted to kill Mbona because of his extraordinary abilities. Mlauli, however, failed to kill his nephew because Mbona wished to die on his own accord. He told Mlauli and his enemies to cut his throat with a reed after other weapons had failed to harm him. Thus this was his was his fate. It is said that His head was cut and placed at Khulubvi sacred grove.

Mbona's shrine lies in the Sacred Khulubvi grove in Nsanje, protected by the shrine guardians. Mbona's head is said to have been entombed on the floor of his hut. The shrine is never cleaned or swept. Only those of the Mang'anja tribe are allowed with permission from the guardian. The sanctuary is sacred ground; no one can cut down any tree, plant any crops or let their cattle graze. 

There a number of huts in the area, but most importantly includes Mbona's hut and close to that his wife's hut Salima. After the death of Mbona she still played an important role, she would be visited at night by Mbona in the form of an enormous python and he would tell her the future, so as to inform the village of what to plant and what not to. She would communicate to the village via a trance like state, she was the oracle.

After her death the cult continued with succession of oracles. The ultimate responsibility for the cult lies with the Lundu paramount, who is to provide Mbona with a “wife.” This elderly woman, called Salima, lives in Khulubvi and communicates Mbona’s wishes received through dreams and possession. An outside medium may also perform this function, and local chiefs have subsidiary shrines. The spirits communicates via this medium and their lineages spans generations and there is a system of succession.

People came to worship, bringing with them black cloth or a black goat, an offering to Mbona in exchange for rain, water, life. Escorted by the chiefs and village headmen they went to Mbona's hut. After they returned home and finished the sacred rites the sky would rip open and the ground would be blessed by rain.

The Khulubvi and Associated Mbona Sacred Rain Shrines are a world heritage site (UNESCO).

Michiru Mountain, Blantyre

Blantyre, Malawi’s centre of finance and commerce is a bustling city. Known as the commercial city of Malawi it is always busy to the point that your thoughts are drowned by the hooting of vehicles, whistling of trains, roaring of trucks and not to mention the daily commotion of trading areas.

But I thought to myself, where is the nearest place you can feel miles away from the commotion and babble but still stay as close to Blantyre as possible? I looked around Blantyre and the answer was staring at me. It was obvious. Blantyre lies in a hilly area and is surrounded by mountains, Soche, Ndirande, Chiradzulu and Michiru Mountain. So it was just a matter of which Mountain. The choice was made when my friends wanted to go hiking and we chose one of the closest mountains to the heart of Blantyre, Michiru Mountain. The mountain stands at 1205 meters / 3953 feet and offers views of Blantyre.

So we took a bus early in the morning that took us from Blantyre to Chilomoni, one of the large residential areas of Blantyre. And we took the bus all the way to its very last stop, and when we looked up, we were at the foot of the mountain. For the very first part of the hike the roads and paths were wide and clear, this is because the Roman Catholics use the mountain during Easter for ''The Way Of The Cross. A series of orange crosses in the area mark the various stations at which they stop and have prayers, and at the top of that particular area of the mountain lies a large cross that can be seen from Blantyre. But after that the paths become narrow and they divert in all sorts of directions, so you will need a guide or someone who knows the area pretty well.

Already, barely minutes into our journey, the stunning views started appearing. Just one glance and we knew the view was going to get even better the higher we went. But getting up in certain areas was a little harder than we thought.

Because of the steepness of certain areas, you needed good grip; use both hands and probably a hand from someone above. But when we got to a ridge at the top it was worth it. We were surrounded by a forest of pine trees and thick, lush grass, and everything was drowned in thick cloud. It started to rain, but it was just showers nothing heavy. It was like a Movie scene. There were beautiful and bizarre flowers, the smell of pine trees, and there was nothing you could hear besides the drizzle and yourself breathing.

But as we moved further and further away from the Chilomoni section of the mountain, the clouds disappeared and the perfect view of Blantyre came into sight. You can also see areas such as Zomba, Mulanje as well as the Shire valley. And when we reached the top you could see everything but hear nothing, everything was on mute. And you could see the whole mountain chain, snaking its way into the distance.

On our hike we saw mushrooms of all colours, shapes and sizes. These are only found in the mountain areas, rarely seen in and around the cities. And clearly most, if not all are not edible, but traditional healers use some for medicinal and spiritual reasons. 

We had climbed the mountain at it southern part and travelled up north along it. On our descent the silence was broken by the screeching of monkeys and the sound of waterfalls. The river carved its way between a part of the mountain. On one side a was steep, rocky mountain side, and the other a near vertical cliff. Caves are scattered all over the mountain, so its best to be cautious as well as have a guide. The mountain also has a conservation area for forestry, farming and a nature reserve so it’s worthwhile to have a look.

Eventually we made our way to the foot of the mountain and the area looked like the savannah in the rainy season. Everything was bright green and from the bottom the whole mountain could be seen. We took a moment to take it all in, for we saw how far we hiked and we realised we were kilometres away from Blantyre. We didn’t take a bus back home, we walked, but all in all it was worth it.