The 23rd edition of the Evison Matafale Memorial will be held at Civil Ground, Gadaga, in Chileka, Blantyre, on December 1.
The memorial celebrates the life of reggae icon Matafale, who is the founder of the Black Missionaries, alongside fallen artists such as Musamude Fumulani and Gift Fumulani.
Black Missionaries lead vocalist Anjiru Fumulani said yesterday that the memorial is traditionally held on November 27 but that, because the day is falling in mid-week, they had decided to shift it to December 1.
“The memorial is there. It will be the 23rd edition and we will be releasing the lineup soon,” Anjiru said.
Currently in South Africa, where they are holding shows and are expected to return home this week, the Black Missionaries conduct the event free of charge.
Anjiru said they miss Matafale.
“It has not been easy for us without Evison Matafale, Musamude and Gift but we cannot question the will of God. We will continue to celebrate them and we are thankful to people for their support,” he said.
Some of the previous editions of the memorial have been disrupted by rains but there were no rains last year.
Having preserved the mission by releasing Kuimba albums, which have hit Kuimba 12, Anjiru said they would be releasing new songs soon.
“People now understand the concept of the memorial. Evison Matafale will always be part of Malawi’s history and we cannot talk about reggae without mentioning Matafale’s name.
Matafale was a Rastafarian who used to speak for the oppressed.
His death on November 27 2001 shocked the country, with some people fearing that it would have marked the end of Black Missionaries.
But 23 years down the line, Black Missionaries, popularly known as Ma Blacks, is still active and enjoying the limelight.
