The great war and Chewa society in Malawi

Abstract

The Chewa of Malawi's central region have proved to be a most resilient people. Their political structure has always tended to disintegration, in part owing to the dual clan, matrilineal nature of chiefly succession. This situation was complicated in the nineteenth century by challenges to Chewa political and economic power from various African forces, most notably Ngoni and Yao settlers and Swahili traders. Since the 1880s the Chewa have also had to contend with the growing involvement of European missionaries and government officials in their affairs. ' Yet through all of this the Chewa have not only survived, but have also spread their influence throughout present day Malawi. Although much Chewa political power -was undermined by the Ngoni and the Yao, a significant remnant of Chewa authority was preserved by the chieftanship of Mwase Kasungu. Using their position astride trade routes with Lake Malawi and beyond, successive Mwases were able to forge alliances alternately with Swahili and Portuguese traders and to resist the pressure of Ngoni raids. As the major outpost of resistance to the Ngoni, Mwase Kasungu's territory became a refuge for Chewa displaced in areas to the south. The full assertion of British power, however, upset the delicate balance which the Mwases had so carefully worked to maintain, leading to their decline. In the pax Britannia which followed, the Chewa were nonetheless able to reassert their cultural dominance over central Malawi.