The Nyasa are a people of southeastern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
, concentrated mainly 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 ...
, southwestern
Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...
and parts of northern
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 people are also known as the Kimanda, Kinyasa and Manda.
Significant populations of Nyasa live along the shores of northeastern
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, () is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is ...
.
Many
Nyanja
Chewa ( ; also known as Nyanja ) is a Bantu language spoken in Malawi and a recognised minority in Zambia and Mozambique. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for languages, so the language is often called or Chinyanja. In Malawi, the name wa ...
people of Malawi refers to themselves as Nyasa; as of 2010 roughly 500,000 claim to be Nyasa people.
In Malawi, the Nyasa are a minority tribe with their own distinct culture. While matrilineal (much like the Chewa, the country's dominate tribe), the Nyasa's belief system is extremely different. Unlike the Chewa, which is part of the dominant Bantu culture, the Nyasa are part of the lesser known Nigha culture.
A further widely practiced belief is consensual non-monogamy, where the wife is enabled - and even encouraged - to have sexual relations with other single males. The same does not apply to the husband, who is expected to remain chaste to his wife.
See also
*
Nyasaland
Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...
*
Lake Nyasa
References
Ethnic groups in Malawi
Ethnic groups in Tanzania
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