Extract from The Nation, Malawi's English Language Paper, August 2002
"You see, Africans have gone far with their
technology, just like the azungus(whites). Whilst
whites boast of being able to make things like cars,
trains and plenty of others, we are proud because we
make ours out of very cheap materials"
He said two people can fit inside a piece of bamboo no
more than two nodes long.
"I can do something to you and you can find yourself
in this bambo", he boasted.
Gama explained that a magic plane is a simple
apparatus that works because of the witchcraft powers
it has. The plane, he said, can only be operated by
people who are witches.
"You may think that it is just a simple thing. But
those who know the planes better know that these
machines are worth a lot of money. When you hear that
a witches' plane has crashed somewhere, you may look
at it as a small thing but in the eyes of the owners,
it is a big thing" he said.
He explained tat a magic plane has so many things that
make it go.
"Normally, it uses human blood for fuel. In most
cases, if it falls, people say that it was flying over
a 'protected' area but the truth is that it has run
out of fuel.It has a copmpass that tells you whether
you are flying into the right direction or not. When
you are lost it's when you hear of a crash" expained
Gama.
"Its not easy to travel in such aircraft, that's why
when it crashes at night, the people who were in it
are unable to move their limbs and people usually find
them in the morning" expalined another witchdoctor
Mfiti Zalimba.
"Witches can reduce their sizes to that of ants,
flies, bats and so on and so forth. So a plane that is
30 centimetres long can accomodate as many as 100
witches depending on their form. Of course, there is
no way witches can board a plane in their human form.
It does not happen that way, MfiSaid Mfiti Zalimba.
The magic planes are are know to travel at supersonic
speed and often use graveyards as airports. They can
travel to neighbouring countries while others are said
to fly as far as the US, Europe and Asia.
"Depending on the owner, everything that is in a magic
plane is of importance and use. Beads can turn out to
be lights. A small rag at the tail can be used as a
compass." she said.
When asked whether or not it is possible to to fly
these planes during the day, Mfiti Zalimba said that
it is impossible because flying involves a lot of
things that cannot be done during the day.
"Don't you know witches hate light? she asked in
It's a whole weird world for witches.