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Chundalala chawona mwezi (The moon was already up and the ants were gone)

Group of four Ngoni men
Audio
Chundalala chawona mwezi (The moon was already up and the ants were gone)
This song is sung while dancing. The action of the feet creates an accompanying rhythm on the malaza leg rattles. The meaning behind the title, translated as "The moon was already up and the ants were gone," is that the singer was too late to catch flying ants, which usually swarm at dusk. By the time the moon was up, the ants had closed their holes again, and there were no ants to catch.