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Nyalilo - RITUAL INTERCOURSE (lit. SHE WHO CRIES)
It is this lesson which has, not surprisingly, brought the most criticism of domba from missionaries and others who concern themselves with the morals of the Venda. I never met any white person who had actually seen the rite, and not one could accept that it might be a solemn, sacred act, or that it might be simply mimed under a blanket or kaross, which is as much as I ever saw. Even if the participants had undressed under the blanket, the intention of the act would not have been sordid. In any case, it would have been far less erotic than much that was accepted on the European stage, and especially in ballet, decades before the recent advent of stage nudity.
Stayt's (1931:122) informant says nyalilo takes place on the last morning of domba, but I never saw it done at that late stage. He describes a forced seduction and says that 'ritual intercourse' takes place under a blanket. He does not say whether or not they undress and whether there is actually connection.
Van Warmelo (1932:70-72) gives a different account. In all but one case, the actors are covered by a skin: van Warmelo quotes an informant who stresses that the act must only be mimed, but he claims that actual connection does take place in some madomba.
When I saw nyalilo, it was either an innocuous and highly 'respectable' mime acted under a blanket (which I was asked not to photograph), or a 'puppet show' with two wooden statuettes and flour-gruel (mutuku), to represent semen. The act of intercourse was represented by holding a blanket over the statuettes and waving it up and down. Van Warmelo describes a similar act, but with an old man and old woman instead of the statuettes.
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The novices dance domba whilst the statuettes 'make love' under the blanket. Note the married woman who is dancing independently (-dabela) and in the opposite direction to the novices. This is a sign that she is a graduate of domba. |
Nyalilo is classified by some as an essential rite (ngoma), but it is shown in exactly the same way as other  . The novices are told to kneel down facing outwards as they sing domba, whilst the show is prepared. At some madomba, nyalilo is done more that once, but well before the end of the school. One of van Warmelo's informants said that it should be done every day, which is most unlikely and was certainly unheard of whenever I went. |