| Revision as of 13:10, 21 August 2015 editKanjuzi (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users19,844 edits Removed unsupported assertions that Chewa is partly derived from Sotho.~~~~← Previous edit | Revision as of 09:37, 28 August 2015 edit undoKanjuzi (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users19,844 edits Deleted unsupported view that the Maravi rulers were Sotho kings and that Chichewa is closely related to SothoNext edit → | ||
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| The rulers of Maravi were the Mogale kings, whose name became corrupted to Mwale, just as many other Sotho and Zulu-based words in Chewa (Nyanja) had become - such as ku-kumana for uku-xumana, where the click sound is lost. | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 09:37, 28 August 2015
Maravi was a kingdom which straddled the current borders of Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, in the 16th century. The present-day name "Malawi" is said to derive from "Maravi" which itself means "fire flames".
At its greatest extent, the state included territory from the Tumbuka and Tonga areas to the north to the Lower Shire in the south, and west to Luangwa and Zambezi valleys. Maravi's rulers belonged to the Mwale matriclan and held the title Kalonga. They ruled from Manthimba, the secular/administrative capital, and were the driving force behind the state's establishment. Meanwhile, the patrilineal Banda clan, which traditionally provided healers, sages and metallurgists, took care of religious affairs from their capital Mankhamba near Nthakataka.
After contact with the Portuguese, trade intensified. It included such items as beads of the Khami type and Chinese porcelain imported via Portuguese intermediaries. In the 19th century, the state declined and the Maravi were frequently raided by their neighbors the Yao and captured for sale as slaves. David Livingstone visited Lake Nyasa in 1859, and Protestant missionaries soon followed.
"Maravi" is therefore a general name of the peoples of Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and the eastern part of Zimbawe. Chewa, which is also referred to as Nyanja and is spoken in Malawi and Zambia and to some extent Mozambique, is the main language that emerged from this empire.
See also
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