Vimbuza Healing Dance

Vimbuza is a healing practice of the Tumbuka in northern Malawi in which a person suffering from a particular kind of affliction dances to specific drum rhythms in a temple house, the drumming calling the spirit responsible so that it can be worked with rather than driven out. Healers train for years to recognise which rhythm belongs to which condition. It survived official disapproval under both missionaries and the post-independence government, and UNESCO inscribed it in 2005.

The main sights

• The drum rhythms - the specific patterns matched to particular afflictions.
• The temple house - the structure the healing takes place in.
• The healers - the practitioners trained over years to diagnose and treat.
• The survival - a practice that continued through official suppression.

When to go

Sessions happen when they are needed rather than on a schedule, most often at night. There is no public performance. The tradition is strongest in Tumbuka districts of the north.

Good to know

This is a healing practice involving sick people, not a performance, and attending requires invitation and real discretion. Photographing is generally not acceptable. Staged versions misrepresent what it is.

Nearby

Tumbuka districts of northern Malawi, around Mzuzu and Rumphi.