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A Continuing Legacy of Song 21

A Continuing Legacy of Song: From Asilikali Lyrics into
Malawian Culture

Melvin E. Page

In November 2018, while wearing the blue helmets of United Nations
peacekeepers, six Malawian soldiers died in an operation against rebel forces in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just a year after other Malawians similarly
died in service abroad. President Peter Mutharika lauded them as “heroes of
1
peace for Africa.” But perhaps the most heartfelt tribute came later in a popular
song, “Moyo wa Msilikali” [The Life of a Soldier], written and performed by
Soldier (rendered Soja, rather than Asilikali, in Chichewa) Lucius Banda, who
over the last two decades has been one of the most popular musicians in the
2
country. Long billing himself as a “Soldier for the Poor” - a claim disputed by
some observers of the popular music scene in Malawi - Lucius Banda’s social
3
and political activism has found expression in his lyrical messages. Most of his
songs tap into a strain of militant Christianity and gospel music, both of which
4
share a storied legacy in the country and its music. Though less commented on

1 “ADF rebels in DRC kill seven UN peacekeepers,” Africa News, 16 November
2018, https://www.africanews.com /2018/11/16/adf-rebels-in-drc-kill-seven-un-
peacekeepers/, accessed 4 August 2019.
2
“Lucius Banda Releases Song for MDF Solider Killed In DRC,” Nyasa Times,
11 January 2019, https://www.nyasatimes.com/lucius-banda-drops-moyo-wa-
msilikali-single-in-honour-of-malawi-soldiers-killed-in-drc/, accessed 4 August
2019.
3 This claim has been described as a “ruse” by John Lwanda, “Music advocacy,
the media and the Malawi political public sphere, 1958-2007,” Journal of African
Media Studies 1, 1(2009): 145.
4 Soja Lucius Banda’s association with these movements is affirmed in John
Lwanda and Michael Phoya’s survey of “Malawi at 50: Culture, Sport, and
Music,” Society of Malawi Journal 72, 1(2019): 52. For a fuller analysis of Lucius
Banda’s music, see Ruben M. Chirambo, “Mzimu wa soldier: Contemporary
popular music and politics in Malawi,” in ed. Harri Englund, Democracy of
Chameleons: Politics and Culture in the New Malawi (Uppsala: Nordic Africa
Institute, 2002): 103–122. In just the last year another Malawi performer, Frank
Molande, entered the nation’s music scene as “Gospel Soldier,” with a single
debut rap recording, “Freedom”; and the Kamuzu Barracks Gospel Singers, a
group of serving soldiers, also released a new album. Both may be found on the
“Music from Malawi” website, https://www.malawi-music.com/, accessed 7
August 2019.