GETTING THERElTHE GIGSl LIKOMA ISLAND

We had travelled to Mozambique because Andy (Rory Motion) wanted to do some stand-up comedy gigs in Chinyanja, the local language, and I was to record them for BBC Radio Four. Andy had worked out some routines before we arrived there, and worked hard during our first week on more material. (I just went snorkling every day). In the evenings we'd sit outside our hut, reading Andy's Chinyanja/English dictionary by a paraffin lamp. Written by missionaries (we assume) it combines translation with moral guidance. Look up 'sexy' and it adds:- "Sexy women are usually carriers of disease". Sometimes there is an example of usage, such as:-
'Shagged' - worn out or tired. Example: "She was shagged before the journey began".

Andy had some good material:- the 'wide-mouthed frog' joke; a long shaggy-dog story about the animals playing the insects in a football match, and some Celtic tales. He did a try-out gig at Mchenga Nkwichi and his routine went down very well - at least everyone laughed, and undersood him! So we did a little tour of the area, going to some very small and remote villages either by boat or by walking through the bush, and Andy entertained the villagers - in Chinyanja.

Most of the places had never been visited by performers of any description, let alone a crazy white man telling jokes in Chinyanja, but the audiences were wild for it. After each show, the audience would sing for us in return. There's a great tradition of choral singing in the area, and after a few moments of working out who'd sing each part, the crowd would suddenly launch into a gobsmackingly beautiful song, in four-part harmony. It was fantastic. At the end of one gig, a man came over and shook Andy's hand, saying how pleased he was that a Mzungu (white man) had come to tell jokes in Chinyanja - something that had never happened before. I thought Andy was going to cry.