Society beyond morality: mimesis, sovereignty, and being not‐human in the Nyau associations of Malawi

Nyau masked dancers embodying a variety of people, animals, and objects appear at many public events in Chewa areas of Malawi. Understood to be the physical manifestation of ancestral spirits, these entities are classified as ‘not human’ and transgress ordinary morality, mocking and threatening audiences. At the same time, their appearance ensures the moral integrity and reproduction of a Chewa village as a particular type of political community, a cosmic village polity. In this polity, the ability of the Nyau to mediate and balance the mutual relations between humans and ancestral spirits represents a distinct form of local sovereignty. From their extra‐moral position, they mimetically transform social reality and sacralize human potential. In doing so, they address fundamental tensions in Chewa society – especially those linked to emerging inequalities and fears of witchcraft. Where these tensions threaten social relations, the Nyau create a ‘state of exception’, suspending everyday morality and rendering human potential incommensurable. Through this, they help sustain the precarious balance between autonomy and mutuality in Chewa sociality.