Nyakyusa / Ngonde
The approximately 1,000,000 Nyakyusa people live to the north and north east of Lake Malawi/Lake Nyasa. In Tanzania their population extends to the Mbeya city limits and in the south to the lakeshore. Their eastern border is the Livingston mountain range where the Safwa and the Kinga live. Their country comprises of alluvial flats. In Malawi, they are known as Ngonde, and live in the north eastern corner, north from Karonga town.
The Nyakyusa speak Bantu, however they speak a dialect of Bantu that does not make use of tones, and is also quite different from surrounding languages in terms of vocabulary.
Plantains are the Nyakyusa's traditional staple food, augmented with corn(maize), millet, beans, and some soy. Stock-breeding is one of their important activities and they practice and egalitarian form of society to such an extent that that wealthy cattle owners must redistribute some of their cattle for fear of being 'officially' subjected to witchcraft.
The Nyakyusa can trace their origin to Nyanseba, a nubian Queen, who was raided and captured by a ruthless warrior and herdsmen who turned the rulership of Empress to Emperors, but the power and influence of women among the Nyakyusa can still be seen through the naming of children. The boys take their mothers clan name, while girls take their fathers. That was to enforce the fact the her name would remain forever with equal prestige among the nations in times to come. They are organised in a society where men and women share work alike.
With the Nyakyusa, when boys reach the age of puberty,  (11 - 13), they leave their homes and village live, and head on their own ways into the forest to pick for a suitable place to clear for a new village. The next group of adolescents would them have to make another settlement to keep growing. This movement of young boys is the basis of new communities and allows for recognition of the sexual maturity into the wider society. These 'new' villages would die at the death of the last survivor of their founding group.
Nyakyusa Pubic Apron |
