ABSTRACT
The speed with which the virus spread through the Protectorate, and the incredibly large number of cases, combined to make medical attention all but impossible for the vast majority of Malawians. In keeping with a decision made for the United Kingdom, the peace celebrations in Nyasaland were scheduled and held on 16 July 1919. Certainly the famine contributed to the sense of an incomplete peace which Malawians felt. In fact, the nyau resurgence was largely a reaction to the missions which were the most direct expression of European civilization Africans faced on a regular basis and one which had seemed especially hypocritical during the war, having previously talked of peace and then encouraged war. The dance societies first appeared in the northern part of Nyasaland and were at first known as "bands"; the initial noteworthy performances by such groups were during peace celebrations in a few districts.
