Trending: Madonna’s David in Malawian attire with Swahili words on it

American pop star Madonna last week shared on Instagram a picture of her oldest adopted child from Malawi, David Banda, in the country’s traditional attire.

The Pop star promised to keep David tethered to his Malawian roots having adopted him in 2006. She is beyond any reasonable doubt walking the talk.

The image captioned “be proud of who you are and where you come from”, shows the 11 year old in Chitenje made outfit with Swahili words on it. He stands next to a picture of his biological father Yohane Banda, foster mother Madonna, and a relative from Malawi.

The Swahili words reads “Mambo Mazuri” meaning good things/beautiful things.

These are the only visible words as others are hidden in the cloth’s caves.

Be Proud of who you are and where you come from!! 💘🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/llMgtQjlAR

— Madonna (@Madonna) May 12, 2017

Swahili is a language widely spoken in East Africa, in countries like Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. It is therefore alien to Malawi.

Taking into consideration the fact that language is one of the major cultural values, Chichewa or any of the local languages would have carried more weight on the Malawian outfit.

Some Malawians have likened the attire to that of the Maasai of East Africa in terms of style.

Where he comes from, #Malawi, boys & men don't dress like that. https://t.co/b6UUQbOnXl

— Idriss A. Nassah (@mynassah) May 12, 2017

https://twitter.com/tsotsochick/status/863262773765185536

Except he's from Malawi & that (written on his Khanga) is Swahili, not spoken there. Did you buy this in Kenya? Good stuff. Translation/pun.

— Ciku Muiruri ✝️ (@MissCiku) May 12, 2017

Others say it’s totally Malawian, save for he language.

That's the Ntcheu, Mzimba, Mchinji, parts of Mwanza and Bvumbwe type of dressing. Kamuzu Banda suppressed it. Good job. Looks great

— Wanangwa Mbereka (@wanangwambereka) May 13, 2017