Nyau dances involve intricate footwork, flinging dust in the air. Dancers respond to specific drumbeats and songs depending on the mask type or character. The dancers, described as "fleet-footed or nimble-footed", appear in masks representing the dead, human being or animal; the weak-kneed run away from sights of such dances. While it may be considered in many places to be a folk dance, this is certainly not the case; Nyau should rather be considered a religious dance, as its function is to communicate with the ancestral world.
<p>The dancer facing the camera appears to be wearing Simoni (from Saint Peter),a red mask, resembling an Englishman with sunburn; This character might be a caricature of an English colonialist.
</p><p>The Kulamba traditional ceremony is celebrated towards the end of August each year. Mkaika, the headquarters of the Chewa people comes to life.
This is the time for the Kulamba, or paying homage. All the subordinate chiefs in Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique come to Katete at Mkaika to pay their tributes and join in the celebrations with their people. 
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The ceremony, held after harvest in late August, is a way of bringing together different Chewa chiefs from the three countries to present their reports of grievances to paramount chief Kalonga Gawa Undi.
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