Eric Mpulula, bookseller and publisher
Text and photos Diego Menjíbar Reynés from Lilongwe (Malawi)
Eric Mpulula has been working for three years in one of the few literary strongholds in Malawi, Chambo Market, a space located in the capital, Lilongwe, where African and Malawian literature converge and which aims to include art and culture in the community. local.
What is Chambo Market?
I would have to start by saying that it is the only bookstore in Lilongwe specializing in Malawian and African literature. We were born to inspire and promote local culture, which is why most of the works on the shelves are about our country. As an anecdote, I will say that even our name is unique: chambo is a fish that is only found in the fresh waters of Lake Malawi.
Graduated in Procurement and Supply Chain Management, why did you end up becoming interested in literature?
I am very interested in culture and, above all, the inclusion of art in the community to promote diversity and development. Now I work at Chambo Market, but I grew up in a society where we children sat by the fire while listening to the elders tell us stories. I want to preserve Malawi, people need to know more about it. That said, my studies have helped me a lot, because knowing about the supply chain when it comes to spreading stories, as well as knowing the distribution centers of Malawian literature, crafts and culture, has been a great combination.
Why do people have to know more about the country?
I understand culture as a way of knowing where we come from and where we are going. For example, why is the majority of the population engaged in agriculture in this country? In the 19th century there were two ethnic groups in Malawi: the Batwa and the Chewa. Both migrated from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The first came from the Kasai region and the second from Katanga. They both came to Malawi to settle. The Batwa were hunters and found Chongoni, a site in the Dedza area, in the center of the country, whose rock art is today considered a world heritage site by UNESCO. The Chewas, however, were farmers and displaced the Batwa from the mountains. Today there is a Chewa majority in Malawi and agriculture has been inherited as a way of life.
How important is a reading society that is aware of its culture?
Literature has a fundamental importance in the culture and community development of a country. If you look at the statistics, the illiteracy rates in Malawi are very high and that has affected policies. I illustrate with an example: 70% of Malawi is covered in water and yet we still pray for rain. Mbona It is a word in Chichewa that refers to the rain gods. It is believed that these live in the forests, hidden in the trees, which is why it is said that they should not be cut. The problem is that the people who had that information did not know how to transmit it and died. That knowledge did not pass from generation to generation because it was an oral tradition. So, people thought they could use the forests as they pleased. In the times of our ancestors, people collected wood in a controlled way and it had a very specific and sustainable use. Now, because that more respectful knowledge was not transmitted, people deforest massively and make charcoal their business, with all that that implies. Furthermore, these trees are home to many types of birds and their habitats are destroyed.
Let’s go back to Chambo Market, what makes it unique?
Here we talk about Malawi’s own narratives and publish local authors. We have created the Logos Open Culture publishing house, through which we publish works on very varied topics. We need more innovation and incubating culture in this world. Narratives about Africa are often outdated and with Logos we want to innovate and promote other types of literature. We also use Chambo Market as a way to connect with people. Here we socialize and share different points of view. It is a meeting place between people from different countries and cultures. We receive researchers, historians, people who are enthusiastic about the culture of Malawi, readers… We have more than a thousand books, many of them stored in the warehouse due to lack of space. Authors such as David Livingstone, Harry Johnston or the Kenyan Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai are also on our shelves.
Surprise us with some unknown titles…
We have published four works.Lomathinda: Rose Chibambo Speaks, by Timwa Lipenga, which tells the untold story of a woman who shaped Malawi’s history, Rose Chibambo, whose original name, Lomathinda, means ‘snatched from the grave’, and who forged a nationwide women’s movement. We have also published Making Music in Malawi, by John Lwanda, an investigation of more than 12 years that could be summarized as an innovative contribution to the historical and sociocultural importance of the sounds that create and remake the country. Malawi, a Place Apart, The work of Asbjørn Eidhammer, Norwegian ambassador to Malawi for more than eight years, analyzes the past, current and future perspectives of the country’s politics and economy. The last publication is Madonna is our Mother, a book dealing with post-colonial Malawi.
Then there are the “banned” books. Tell us about them.
Yes. Although they are not necessarily banned, they contain controversial and politically sensitive information, such as those used to be written by Jack Mapanje, an author who was sentenced to three and a half years in prison during the Hasting Kamuzu Banda dictatorship. Many bookstores prefer to have more neutral books, but not us.
In addition, you have included other artistic disciplines in Chambo Market.
In Malawi there are many ways to tell stories: some do it in books, others draw, sculpt, paint…, we thought that to have a comprehensive knowledge of our culture we should combine other artistic disciplines. We want to create a space where you find everything you are looking for to satisfy your cultural needs and find your own narrative.
According to the World Bank, Malawi is the fourth poorest country in the world. Does this pose a challenge for your business?
Many people are not interested in buying books because of illiteracy and, above all, because they think that it will be of no use to them, which is why they only buy textbooks for school. Malawi has a very difficult economy and many people live on less than a dollar a day, so they cannot buy. Spending money on books is a luxury that people cannot afford. They buy textbooks because their children use them in school, but buying works like these is, for many people, a waste of time and money. Some Malawians come, yes, but they are few. We receive more researchers and tourists. We must recognize that in Malawi there is little clientele of this type.
