Gonthi says during Christmas celebrations dancers are encouraged to compose songs that glorify God, as opposed to those with obscene and seductive language.

But Christians say involving

the dance into Christmas celebrations is an insult to Christianity.

Davison Makhole is the deacon of the Nyasa Mission of Evangelical Church of Malawi in the commercial capital, Blantyre.

“We commemorate Christmas [as] the day we believe Jesus was born," explains Makhole. " When we come to Nyau, it is basically the cultural belief which is very different from teachings of Jesus; theirs is associated with evil.”

Gonthi quotes the Bible as saying Jesus came for everybody.

But Makhole is not convinced.

"“Of course, yes. Jesus Christ was born for everybody, including the Nyau people," he says. "But in most cases, they use charms in their dances. For example, the Nyau dancer can dance on the string [or rope suspended above the ground without falling down]; can we call that science?”

Makhole says the Chewa should renounce their traditional beliefs and join Christianity, rather than mixing the two.

The Chewa ethnic group is found in some parts of Mozambique and Zambia

,

as well as in Malawi. History says the tribe originated in the 15th century in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The paramount chief of all the Chewas is Chief Undi, who lives in Zambia. In Malawi, the first president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, was a Chewa. Under his rule, Nyau dancers were accorded special respect at his political functions, and the language of the Chewas – Chichewa – became the national language.