Lewis Mataka Bandawe
Lewis Bandawe | |
|---|---|
in 1913 | |
| Born | 1887 |
| Died | 1967 (aged 79–80) |
| Occupations | missionary and civil servant |
| Known for | translating the New Testament, first Malawian to be awarded an MBE |
| Spouse | Grace Bandawe |
Lewis Mataka Bandawe MBE (1887 – 1967) was a Malawian translator and husband of Grace Bandawe from 1913. He was a missionary and bible translator. He was the first Malawian to be awarded an MBE in 1956.
Life
Bandawe was born near Murumbu Hill in Mozambique in 1887 at Kongoni. He moved to Blantyre when he was thirteen in 1899.[1]
He met Grace Lindsay Ayufari who had been educated at the mission by Janet Beck.[2] In 1913 they married at St. Michaels and All Angels Church in Blantyre. The wedding was conducted by the leading Scottish missionary Alexander Hetherwick and photographed by the Malawian photographer Mungo Murray Chisuse. It was noted that the wedding party was multiracial.[3] The two of them were to be key figures of the Blantyre mission until the 1960s.[2]
Bandawe worked on a translation of the New Testament into the Lomwe language with E.D. Bowman. Bandawe led the Mihecani Mission until 1928 and during that time the four gospels and Acts was published in Lomwe.[1]
In 1943 he founded and led the Lomwe Tribal Representative Association. The association was able to influelce the government into using the word "Alomwe" when referring to their tribes people and to avoiding the "Anguru" word which was considered pejorative. The (A)nguru word was associated with the idea that the person spoke an incomprehensible language.[4] In 1947 the association was abandoned as its leading figures began to devote their time to the Nyasaland National Congress which did not emphasise tribal loyalties. There appears to have been little resistance to this and it implies that the association did not have popular support.[5]
Bandawe became a Member of the British Empire in the 1956 New Year Honours list.[6]
Death and legacy
Bandawe died in 1967. In 1971 his autobiography "Memoirs of a Malawian: The Life and Reminiscences of Lewis Mataka Bandawe" was published. Professor Bridglal Pachai worked with him and he was credited as an editor.[7][8] There is a Grace Bandawe Conference Centre in Blantyre.[9]
References
- ^ a b Download Nlakano Nahihano ni Masalmo 1930 | NGL1930 Bible.
- ^ a b Gilbert, Phiri (1861–1917). "Beck, Janet S." Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ McCracken, John (2008). "Mungo Murray Chisuse and the Early History of Photography in Malawi". The Society of Malawi Journal. 61 (2): 1–18. ISSN 0037-993X.
- ^ Robinson, Amanda Lea (March 2024). "Inventing traditional authority: Lhomwe chiefs in Malawi". The Journal of Modern African Studies. 62 (1): 25–51. doi:10.1017/S0022278X23000447. ISSN 0022-278X.
- ^ Kayira, Gift Wasambo; Banda, Paul Chiudza (2013). "Materialism and Ethnicity: The Rise of Lomwe Ethnic Consciousness in Malawi, 1890-2010". The Society of Malawi Journal. 66 (2): 39–50. ISSN 0037-993X.
- ^ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.thegazette.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-02-21. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ Bandawe, Lewis Mataka (1971). Memoirs of a Malawian: The Life and Reminiscences of Lewis Mataka Bandawe. CLAIM.
- ^ "Memoirs of a Malawian : the life and reminiscences of Lewis Mataka Bandawe M.B.E. edited and introduced by B. Pachai". discovered.ed.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
- ^ "conference centre".