Mungo Murray Chisuse
Mungo Murray Chisuse | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. late 19th century |
| Died | unknown |
| Nationality | Malawian |
| Occupation(s) | Photographer (studio portraiture), organist |
| Years active | c. 1900s–1920s |
| Known for | Early African studio photography in Nyasaland; portrait of John Chilembwe |
Mungo Murray Chisuse was a Nyasaland (now Malawi) photographer and one of the earliest documented African studio photographers in the country. He is widely credited as the author of a well-known portrait of John Chilembwe, the Baptist pastor and anti-colonial leader, an image that later informed Chilembwe’s depiction on Malawian banknotes.[1][2]
Biography
[edit]The Blantyre Mission’s superintendent David Clement Scott believed in racial equality and was called a "negrophile" for his outlook (as an insult).[3] Before 1894, Scott picked seven African men to become deacons they were Harry Kambwiri Matecheta, John Macrae Chipuliko, Thomas Mpeni, James Gray Kamlinje, James Auldearn Mwembe, John Gray Kufa and Chisuse. Scott's aim was to increase the role of Africans in the church's leadership,[4] and one woman was also made a deacon.[5]
By the late 1890s Chisuse appears in records connected to mission circles and modern technologies; research notes that as early as 1897 he and fellow Malawian missionary James Gray Kamlinje visited Scotland and learned to ride bicycles, reflecting the transnational networks in which he moved during the colonial period.[6]
Chisuse established himself in Blantyre, advertising his work as an “African photographer, Blantyre, Nyasaland.” Scholars describe him as not only the first known African photographer in Malawi but also “arguably, the finest portrait photographer ever to have worked in the country.”[1]
Alongside photography, later sources recall Chisuse’s musical contributions, noting his standing as Blantyre’s first African organist—an indicator of his wider cultural role in the town’s public life.[7]
Work and subjects
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Among his best-known works are images of John Chilembwe and his family. A widely reproduced photograph shows Chilembwe with his wife Ida and their daughter Emma, taken circa 1910 and attributed to Chisuse.[8] Scholarship also links Chisuse’s portrait of Chilembwe to the image later used on Malawian currency.[2]
Legacy
[edit]Chisuse occupies a formative place in the history of photography in Malawi, representing an early African-owned practice during a period when the medium was largely controlled by European studios.[1] His surviving photographs are held and circulated in archives and public repositories, and works attributed to him appear in curated collections and online media libraries.[9]
See also
[edit]- John Chilembwe
- Providence Industrial Mission
- Church of Central Africa Presbyterian – Blantyre Synod
- John Gray Kufa
- Yao people
References
[edit]- ^ a b c McCracken, John (2008). "Mungo Murray Chisuse and the Early History of Photography in Malawi". The Society of Malawi Journal. 61 (2): 1–18. JSTOR 29779264. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ a b "Mungo Murray Chisuse and the early history of photography in Malawi". AfricaBib. African Studies Centre Leiden. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Todd, Statham (1853–1907). "Scott, David Clement". Dictionary of African Christian Biography. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
- ^ Chilembwe, Thokozani (2014). "Harry Kambwiri Matecheta in Dictionary of African Christian Biography".
- ^ Parsons, Janet W. (1 April 2017). "Harry Kambwiri Matecheta. Blantyre Mission: Stories of Its Beginning, edited by Thokozani Chilembwe and Todd Statham". Studies in World Christianity. 23 (1): 91–92. doi:10.3366/swc.2017.0173. ISSN 1354-9901.
- ^ Cardon, Nick. "The 'Nyasaland Bicycle' (c. 1900): A History of Technology and Empire". University of Birmingham. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ Walton, Caleb, ed. (2022). "The Rest Is History". Visions for Racial Equality. Cambridge University Press. pp. 265–282. doi:10.1017/9781009076487.012. ISBN 978-1-009-07648-7. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ McCracken, John (2016). "Hearing voices from the Chilembwe Rising" (PDF). British Academy Review (27). Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ McCracken, John (2012). "5: The Chilembwe Rising". A History of Malawi: 1859–1966. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 127–146. doi:10.1515/9781782040286-011. ISBN 978-1-78204-028-6. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
External links
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