Page 6 - 2020 SoMJ Vol 73 No 2_Neat
P. 6

Editor’s Notes

                   This issue of the Journal commences with an important, methodically
          researched and highly readable paper by Dr Dorothy Tembo titled ‘Missionaries
          and  the  Standardisation  of  Vernacular  Languages  in  Colonial  Malawi,1875  –
          1935’.
                   It is indeed a rare occasion that an article on sport features in these
          pages,  which  makes  Brian  Brindley’s  article ‘The  Birth  of  Rugby  Football  in
          Malawi’ all the more welcome. It is well to be reminded of the social value of all
          such  team  games  at  this  time  when  the  present  Covid  pandemic  has  all  but
          curtailed such activities for the foreseeable future.
                   Professor Mel Page shares the result of research undertaken in 1972
          when  he  interviewed  Malawi’s  asilikali,  specifically  in  this  instance  a  former
          King’s African Rifles Warrant Officer, Titus Chimwere, who discussed details of
          both his own childhood recollections of Pastor John Chilembwe and those of his
          soldier father, Juma Chimwere.
                   Kathy  Paul,  the  SOM’s  Hon  Secretary,  next  briefly  recounts  her
          serendipitous find on-line of what she believes to be photos of the only San rock
          paintings  found  to  date  in  Malawi.  This  will  be  doubtless  followed  by  a  full
          academic account after the paintings have been professionally evaluated and the
          site  excavated  under  the  aegis  of  Malawi’s  Department  of  Monuments  and
          Museums.
                   David  Bone,  a  former  Senior  Lecturer,  Department  of  Religious
          Studies,  Chancellor  College,  University  of  Malawi,  offers  a  welcome,  well-
          researched and enlightening paper titled ‘The Establishment of Islam in Malawi’.
                   Mike Bamford follows with the results of his extensive research into
          Anna  Marie  Hlawaczek’s  short  life.  Anna  Hlawaczek  was  a  globe-trotting
          adventurer whose arguably foolhardy solo attempt to walk from Cape Town to
          Cairo  ended  with  her  untimely  death  in  1893  among  the  foothills  of  Mount
          Mulanje.
                Dr John Wilson next pays a warm, heartfelt tribute to former Nyasaland /
          Malawi resident Enid Waterfield, who died earlier this year.
                Finally, this issue ends with a book review by David Bone of Prof Mel
          Page’s recent publication: Distinguished Conduct, An African Life in Colonial
          Malawi.
                The  Society  respectfully  reminds  Members  that  2021
          subscriptions are now due.  Full payment details are to be found
          on page 60.

                                                     David Stuart-Mogg


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