The Chewa people, Malawi's largest ethnic group, live on the west side of Lake Malawi. Despite years of missionary influence, they still cling to old beliefs and rituals. For them, death simply means a journey of rebirth into the spirit world. The terrestrial representatives of this other world are grotesquely masked dancers known as Gule Wamkulu. When a person dies, masked dancers appear at the funeral to welcome the deceased to the spirit world.