The Chewa are a Bantu ethnic group primarily found in

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

and

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, with few populations in

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. The Chewa are closely related to people in surrounding regions such as the Tumbuka. As with the Nsenga and Tumbuka, a small part of Chewa territory came under the influence of the Ngoni, who were of Zulu or Natal/ Transvaal origin. An alternative name, often used interchangeably with Chewa, is Nyanja. Their language is called Chichewa. The Chewa are mainly known for their masks and their secret societies, called Nyau. The Chewa ( Mang'anja) are a remnant of the Maravi people. There are two large Chewa clans, the Phiri and Banda, with a population of 1.5 million people. The Phiri are associated with the kings and aristocracy, the Banda with healers and mystics.

History

Oral records of the Chewa may be interpreted to refer to origins in Malambo, a region in the Luba area of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, from where they emigrated into northern

, and then south and east into the highlands of

. Oral history has it that the first Chewa kingdom was established some time before or after 1480, and by the 16th century there were two systems of government, one maintained by the Banda clan at Mankhamba (near Nthakataka), and the other by the Phiri clan at Manthimba. By the 17th century, when the 'Malawi' state had been unified, the Portuguese had made some contact with the Chewa. Although the Portuguese did not reach the heartland of the chiefdom, there are well-documented records of contacts between 1608 and 1667. By 1750, several 'Malawi' dynasties had consolidated their positions in different parts of central Malawi; however the Chewa, had managed to distinguish themselves from their neighbours through language, by having special

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

marks (mphini), and by the possession of a religious system based on the nyau secret societies. During colonial time British and Portuguese missions have converted many to Christianity but at least one fifth (20%) of all Chewa are Muslims today. Despite the influence of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

a good number of Chewa still hold to their ancestral belief system.

Culture

Women have a special place in Chewa society and belief. They are recognized as reproducers of the lineage (Bele), which is an extended family of people related to the same ancestor. As a

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

society, property and land rights are inherited through the mother. Bele means "descended from the same breast". Children of the same mother or female () make up a family of dependents or Mbumba. Elder brothers of the mothers are called Nkhoswe, are the guardians of the lineage, and are mentors to their sisters' sons. When crops are sold, income from the sale belongs to the woman of the house. The village is led by a headman (Mfumu), a position to which every villager of good character could aspire. Village headmen and head women were subordinate to regional chiefs (Mwini Dziko), who were themselves subordinate to Paramount Chiefs. Subordination meant the regular payment of tribute, as well as readiness to supply men in time of war.

Population growth

The population of the Chewa ethnic group numbers at 7.9 million per 2024 estimate.

Notable individuals

* Hastings Banda *

Lazarus Chakwera Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera (born 5 April 1955) is a Malawian politician and theologian who has served as President of Malawi since June 2020. He has served as the leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013. He was president of the Malawi Asse ...

* Justin Malewezi * John Tembo * Felix Mlusu * Aaron Gadama * Jessie Kabwila-Kapasula * Isabel Apawo Phiri

References

External links