The 19th and early 20th centuries immigrants into central Africa
Introduction
During the 19th century, Africa witnessed a lot of migrations for
instance, the Bantu migrated to and from various parts of Africa
During this period, central Africa experienced an influx of various
communities. Most of these communities came from southern Africa.
The Ndebele for instance, who were running away from shaka-zulu
wars of conquest and the European invasion
Others like the Ngoni and the Lomwe, moved into some parts of central
Africa (Malawi) and East Africa (Tanzania) from Mozambique
This chapter, seeks to examine migration and settlement of the four
communities are the yao, the lomwe, the ngoni and the Ndebele
The Yao and the Lomwe
The Yao
The yao are the bantu ethnic group, mostly concentrated in southern
Malawi.
They are believed to originate from northern Mozambique, in the
mid18th century. They were named after the yao mountain in
Mozambique
This mountain is believed to be the exact place of their origin. The yao
people speak a language known as Chiyao
The composition of the Yao
The yao of Malawi comprises several groups
Some of these groups are; the Amasaninga, Amachinga, Achisi and
Amangochi.
Most of the groups adopted the names of the places where they
settled. For Example;
I. The Amasaninga settled near Lisaninga hill (Near Lutwisi
river). They were called Amasaninga because of the
separated edge by which the hill is situated (Lucininga
meaning a fence)
II. The Amachinga stayed near mandimba Hill
III. The Achisi settled at Mchisi hill
All the groups of the yao migrated to Malawi at different times. They
settled among the mangaja and Nyanja people of southern Malawi
Causes of the Yao migration and their settlement in Malawi
Several factors have been suggested as having triggered the migration
and settlement of the yao into their present settlements. These factors
include the following
I. The trade factor
The Achisi, a section of the yao were the pioneers of the long-distance
trade. During their trading activities, the Achisi came into contact with
the east coast Arab traders. This contact stimulated them to undertake
trading ventures and expeditions into the interior of Africa
As a result, the yao found the people of the shire highlands, the
Manganja who were peaceful. The yao also found the area attractive,
thus, some decided to settle permanently in the area
II. Rivalry among local chiefs
Political power among the yao chiefs was proportional to one’s
economic status. However, more to it was the number of subjects
within one’s jurisdiction. In such a scenario, power struggle between
the various chiefs was inevitable
Those groups of the yao that were in possession of guns emerged
formidable and controlled a vast territory. Those that were defeated
were compelled to migrate
III. The Lolo attacks
The lolo people were formally the immediate neighbors of the yao.
They initially had a very close relationship with the yao, later on this
warm relation turned into enmity and warfare due to the following
reasons;
1. The Lolo were jealous of the yao’s increasing wealth and comfort
which they gained from commercial activites. In 1839 led by
chief Nairuwa, the Lolo attacked and utterly defeated the yao,
culminating in their dispersal and migration
2. When the Lolo people became victims of severe famine that
ravaged for their area, they violently invaded yaoland as they
scavenged for survival. This violent attack led to the looting of
yao’s property while many people died, thus forcing the yao to
run for their safety
3. The yao’s participation in east-central Africa slave trade. This
annoyed Nairuwa the leader of the makua who detested the way
the yao were using their guns to raid villages for slaves. He
therefore made a strong attack on the yao and forced them to
flee from their homeland
IV. The Arab raids on the Lolo
which dislodged them from their homeland near the coast. Thus, the
fugitive Lolo invaded and force the yao out from their settlements as
they sought to find new for settlement
V. The Maseko ngoni invasion
In 1848, there arose a succession dispute in Mozambique among the
ngoni people following the death of chief zwang’endaba. The dispute
led to the split of ngoni people into sub-groups, one of them being the
Maseko ngoni who became so powerful militarily. Due to their strength,
the Maseko ngoni started invading and raiding the locals
One of the area traveled by the Maseko ngoni was the yaoland
Thus, the invasion of yaoland by the ngoni caused much terror and
havol upon the unfortunate yao people, leading to their dispersal to
Malawi for safety
VI. The Makonde attacks
This is one tribe of northern Mozambique that probably attacked the
Yao and incited their migration
VII. Natural calamities
Natural disasters such as famine, floods, earthquakes forced most of
the Yao to migrate into Malawi from their cradle land. For instance, it is
believed that when the locusts invaded Yaoland, a lot of crops were
destroyed leading to much famine. This made the unfortunate Yao to
migrate elsewhere
VIII. The shortage of land
This was due to population expansion, thus, making the farming
activities limited due to shortage of land. There arose internal conflicts
over land, thus forcing those defeated to migrate elsewhere in search
of agricultural land
IX. Expansion of trade among Yao traders
Since most of the Yao were traders, there was a need to trade with
other people of central Africa, Malawi inclusive
The course of the Yao migration
The Yao migration was not abrupt but a gradual process that occurred
in two phases, the first phase of migration is dated as early as the
1830’s. In these first phase, movement was not to areas far away from
the original homeland
During the second phase of attack by the Lolo, most of the Yao split
into different groupings and flocked into Malawi. This marked the
second phase of their dispersal
During their migration, the Yao were made up of ten divisions and of
the initial ten Yao divisions that migrated, only four came to Malawi.
These were the Achisi and the Amasaninga who initially occupied the
area around the Amangochi who initially occupied the area around
Blantyre and the Amachinga who settled between Mangochi and
Zomba
Not all Yao Chiefs and their subjects trekked from their homeland
during the eve of internal rivalries. A set of other chiefs like Mataka
were left behind and continued to prey rampage and plunder over one
another
Physical location of the Yao in Malawi
The Yao are predominantly found in the southern parts of Malawi in
districts of Zomba, Mangochi, Blantyre, Chiradzulu, Mulanje and
Balaka. Some Yao’s are also found in the central districts of Dedza and
Salima
Factors that influenced the Yao to Migrate and settle into their
present settlements
