M.J. van Binsbergen in his study of the history and

sociology of the territorial cults in Zambia has distinguished two types of cults namely territorial cults and shrine cults. According to Binsbergen, territorial cults are not necessarily shrine cults.32

It is interesting, however, to note that in the case of the Bimbi cult we have an instance in which the cult

embraces both elements within its structural organisation.

Binsbergen has also provided us with a definition of a shrine. A shrine is

"an observable object or part of the natural world, clearly localised and normally immobile. It is, moreover,

a material focus of religious activities, and perceived and respected as such by p a r t i c i p a n t s ." 33

Binsbergen has further indicated that while identifiable by locally defined observable features, the essence

of the shrine lies in the fact that it refers to n o n ­ observable beings or forces. The shrine is a spot which is singled out and treated in a very special way because of its close association with events by which entities believed to exist somewhere outside this visible order can manifest themselves within this order and w h e r e , t h e r e f o r e , humans can communicate with these entities. 34

From Binsbergen's point of view, it seems,

therefore, plausible to assume that shrines are symbols of the divine presence, hence, holy and venerated by the people. J.C. Miller has postulated that among the Mbundu people of Angola symbols were associated with certain powers expressed in terms of supernatural

forces lurking somewhere behind the physical object itself. 35 One of the effects of this association

between symbols and supernatural forces is that symbols produce social action. Groups of people mobilise

themselves around them, worship before them, they perform other symbolic activities near them and add symbolic

objects to them often making composite shrines to them. 3 6

Turner has observed that in a field context symbols can even be described as forces in that they are

determinable influences inclining persons and groups to take action. 37 Such action is said to have often some religious outlook since it postulates something beyond the external appearance of the specific events, objects and persons involved. Religious action generated by symbols thus points to a power or powers experienced as supernatural or sacred, powers associated with

spiritual beings or Supreme deity.

I.N. Kimambo and C.K. Omari in their study of the development of religious thought and centres of worship among the Pare people of northern-eastern

Tanzania, have given us an insight of why shrines have such religious significance in the life of a people.

Writing about the Pare they have this to say:

"The development of religious centres on the Pare mountains has been influenced by the need to attain and maintain

fellowship with God.... The religious worshipping centres became places where

communication between God and the people was possible. By means of prayer

supplication and offerings, people were able to establish their broken relationship with God in a corporate form ...

The gap in fellowship between God-'.and man was sealed and narrowed. Thus these worshipping centres became places where God's revelation and omnipresence were e x p e r i e n c e d . "38

The relationship between the Pare people and their

mpungi (shrine) seems to be similar to the relationship existing between the Chewa and their kachisi system.

Thh religious significance of the kachisi in the life

and thought of the Chewa in the Bimbi cult is indisputable.

My informants insistently asserted that the kachisi

(shrine) is one of the best means of communication between God on.the one hand and the Chewa people on the other.

The akachisi (shrines) as sacred symbols of the supernatural, hel]> t h e 'Chewa to formulate and awaken

sentiments of dependence on C h a u t a . Besides, these shrines help them transcend beyond themselves to the spiritual realm of . Chauta whom they think governs the destiny of their lives by supplying- them with their material and spiritual needs. Added to this is the

idea that the shrine system is a medium which helps

people realise that they are mere sinners and, therefore, in need for forgiveness.

Rain shrines in the Bimbi cult are thus centres of religious activities. These include not only what the people positively do such as clearing the shrine ground, erecting a shrine, making offerings and prayers but also, out of sheer religious consideration, they refrain from demolishing the shrine, removing sacred objects from it, cutting wood in the sacred grove or even copulating near the shrine.

Having argued that the kachisi system in the Bimbi cult is designed for the worship of Chauta it is important now to move on and see how the system is

organised. The first thing to be borne in mind is that the most important element in Bimbi shrine organisation is its high degree of centralisation. Laurence

Mdala, one of the B i m b i 's leading officers, has indicated that the Chewa make a clear distinction between

kachisi-wa-mfumu (the village headman's shrine) and kachisi-wa-mvula (Bimbi rain s h r i n e ) . According to him, kachisi-wa- mfumu can be owned by a chief or any village headman if he so wishes. The procedure is

simple. A chief or village headman selectsJ.a tree of his own choice which in his eyes looks diginified enough to have it as a sanctuary. He calls it m s o r o , that is, a place of prayer. At other times a real msoro tree - pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia is chosen for this purpose but always by the chief or village headman.

Kachisi wa mfumu may also consist of a small hut built over the grave of a deceased chief or village headman and used for family and lineage prayers. Offerings made at the kachisi wa mfumu do not primarily serve an

ecological purpose but rather spring from concern for individual health and ultimately refer not to the land but to the local minimal kin-group under a chief or village headman. When offerings are made the assembly may comprise the officiating elder himself and no-one in attendance or possibly with one or two other people.

Occasions such as chinawali (initiation c e r e m o n i e s ) , treatment for majini (posssession by evil spiri t s ) , or when going out on a journey may warrant prayers at the kachisi wa mfumu or mwini mudzi (guardian). At such shrines only the spirits of the family, lineage or tribe are invoked*.

The other type of shrine is kachisi-wa-mvula and this differs considerably from the kachisi-wa-mfumu or m w i n i - m u d z i . To start with kachisi-wa-mvula is not owned by anyone who so w i s h e s . It is specifically

given by Bimbi himself to specific people, mainly Chewa village headmen by virtue of their being descendants of the Chewa ancestral spirits, but also to some Yao chiefs and Ngoni village headmen as well, depending on their relationship with the cult leader himself. No one can, at will, arrogate a Bimbi rain shrine unless prior authority has been given to him from above. The legitimacy of kachisi-wa-mvula is based on the authority of the Bimbi.

Moreover Bimbi rain shrines are not organised in terms of families or lineages but arranged in terms of groups of villages across kinship, ethnic and religious boundaries within a particular territory under a

paramount chief. There is no Bimbi rain shrine belonging to a particular minimal kin-group but a conglomeration of villages which are pulled together to the centre of their religious worship in the village where the shrine happens to be. Prayers invoked at these

interlocal rain shrines.aim at ensuring the success

of the ecological activities such as farming and fishing, activities in which the population in the Upper Shire Valley is constantly engaged. Apart from seeking the

material success of the total community, prayers

said at Bimbi rain shrines are ultimately for the moral well being of the population as a whole.

Furthermore those who own rain shrines are

required by tradition to renewf their spiritual authority from time to time by visiting the mother rain shrine in the Bimbi village at Ulongwe before their shrines become operational. 39 Through this process the Bimbi is able to exercise his spiritual authority beyond the boundaries of individual territories and ethnic groups.

The circumstances surrounding the activities at Bimbi rain shrines are by and large matters of territorial and regional concern and always consist of religious attempts to counteract droughts, floods, blights, pests and epidemic diseases which may inflict whole populations and animals. What we see here is an expansion of Bimbi religious ideology into a wider area beyond the reach of the territorial chief. Besides, such religious ideology seems to have great impact in society because it promises economic prosperity and both individual and family security.

The Bimbi shrine system has another dimension especially in its relationship with the Chewa village headman. The high degree of centralisation inherent in the Bimbi cult has made it a kind of symbol of unity among the Chewa village headmen and a reminder of their past history. Since many of the prayers said at the rain shrines are expressions of Chewa history they tend to foster a special relationship among the Chewa village headmen and their people who thus maintain special allegiance to the mother shrine at Ulongwe under Bimbi himself. In this way the shrine system enhances Chewa unity and corporate identity based on their common past as expressed in the myths recounted during milawe rituals, prayers and sacrifices offered at the akachisi-wa-mvula (rain s h r i n e s ) .

That shrines are also forums of political expression is not uncommon in religious institutions.

As I.N. Kimanbo and C.K. Omari has indicated whenever