Kamanga people

Kamanga

ŴaKamanga
Total population
3.5 million people (2024)
Regions with significant populations
Malawi (mainly Rumphi District and Mzimba District), Karonga District, Zambia
Languages
Chitumbuka
Religion
Christianity, African traditional religion
Related ethnic groups
Tumbuka people, Henga people, Phoka people, Hewe people

The Kamanga people are a Bantu ethnic group of Tumbuka-speaking people of Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. ^[1] They are the largest group of a larger Tumbuka people group united under one ruler of the Nkhamanga Kingdom. ^[2] The Kamanga people speak Chitumbuka as their first language, ^[3] the Bantu language of East, South and Central Africa. Their current population (2024 estimate) is approximately 4,500,600 people in all the three countries. The Kamanga people in Northern Malawi and Central Malawi are scattered across all the districts of the regions, but are predominantly found in Rumphi, Mzimba, Kasungu and Karonga. ^[4]

History and origin

The Kamanga back in 1400, when they left Democratic Republic of the Congo and entered Malawi, Nyasaland under the leadership of Mwambulalubilo. Like most Tumbuka groups, they crossed the rivers and lakes in search of fertile land for farming.

References

1. Nkonjera, Andrew (1911). "History of the Kamanga Tribe of Lake Nyasa: A Native Account". Journal of the Royal African Society. 10 (39): 331–341. ISSN   0368-4016.
2. "HISTORY OF THE KAMANGA TRIBE OF LAKE NYASA: A NATIVE ACCOUNT" . African Affairs. X (XXXIX): 331–341. 1911-04-01. doi:10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a101800. ISSN   0001-9909.
3. Werner, A. (1933). "Review of Notes on the Speech of the Tumbuka-Kamanga Peoples in the Northern Province of Nyasaland; Notes on the History of the Tumbuka-Kamanga Peoples, T. Cullen Young". Journal of the Royal African Society. 32 (127): 213–214. ISSN   0368-4016.
4. S., E. W. (1933). Young, T. Cullen (ed.). "16". Man. 33: 19–20. ISSN   0025-1496.