Actor, playwright and writer Tawonga Taddja Nkhonjera will on Saturday launch another of his children’s book titled Chuchu and Other Stories at Kweza Arts in Lilongwe.
The book is his second, a fitting sequel to He Helide and Other Stories, his first book.
Nkhonjera said yesterday that the book launch is trying to galvanise “our efforts by inviting people and stakeholders in different development sectors, ranging from the national reading programmes, early childhood development, literary programmes, education, culture, heritage and book publishing”.
“The idea is to highlight the importance of folklore in the lives of people. Essentially, in a rapidly digitising world, in countries like Malawi, we consume stories from all over the world from different media sources and social media, hardly do we consume local stories,” he said.
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Nkhonjera said this has an impact on the tradition, the story and the heritage of the people.
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“Folklore is the beacon that has stood the test of time to maintain the story of us as a people. In Chuchu and Other Stories, I have employed folklore to discuss modern issues and common everyday contemporary life. This is a deliberate bid to make the folktales be of this day and age, not an age where people walked around with spears and clubs,” he said.
Nkhonjera said in these stories, people discuss medicine, money, deforestation, biomedical advancements, agriculture, video games, biodiversity and other modern concepts.
In his first book, He Helide, Nkhonjera said most of the stories were about life amongst people, how people treat each other and their relationships with each other.
But in Chuchu and Other Stories, Nkhonjera brings the age-old world of folktales into the contemporary world, addressing permaculture, money, greed, artificial intelligence and environmental conservation issues.
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“We are honoured to have Special Adviser to President Lazarus Chakwera, Q Malewezi, to host us at Kweza as a guest of honour,” he said.
For the launch, Nkhonjera said they have prepared an engaging event with a dramatised storytelling session by himself.
“I will perform the story Towera in which a proud and naughty princess ends up marrying a hyena. This is a story that talks about body-shaming, a phenomenon that is rising especially today on social media. We will have a reading session from Ashenafi, reading the title story of Chuchu,” he said.
The launch is also expected to be spiced up by musical performances by the trio of Manyozo, Simmy Stings and Taddja.
From Lilongwe, Nkhonjera said the launch will be held in Blantyre and Mzuzu.
