Historical Dictionary of Malawi Part 2

1899 John Chilembwe begins his mission station, the Providence Industrial Mission (PIM).

1901 Montfort missionaries arrive. Malawian soldiers see service against the Ashanti in the Gold Coast.

1902 The Foreign Office (FO) permits railway (s.h.i.+re Highlands Railway) construction between Blantyre and Chiromo. White Fathers missionaries return to the Lake Malawi area.

1904 The FO relinquishes control of British Central Africa to the Colonial Office.

1907 The BCA Protectorate changes its name to Nyasaland Protectorate, and the commissioner becomes governor. Executive and Legislative Councils are established with an all-European members.h.i.+p.

190710 Sir Alfred Sharpe becomes governor.

1908 Blantyre-Port Herald (Nsanje) rail line opens.

191013 William Manning replaces Sharpe as governor.

1912 The first African welfare a.s.sociation, the North Nyasa Native a.s.sociation, is formed.

1914 14 May: The Livingstonia Mission ordains its first African ministers: Jonathan Chirwa, Yesaya Zerenji Mwase, and Hezekiah Mavuvu Tweya.

191418 World War I: a quarter million Malawians serve as porters or soldiers.

1915 George Smith becomes governor. 23 January4 February: The John Chilembwe uprising takes place.

1916 Report of commission of inquiry on the Chilembwe uprising.

1923 The Devons.h.i.+re Memorandum is issued.

1924 Rev. Hanock Phiri founds the African Methods Episcopal (AME) church in Malawi. Charles Bowring becomes governor.

1929 HiltonYoung Report.

1930 Pa.s.sfield Memorandum is published.

1933 Mchape witch cleansing movement sweeps Malawi.

1935 The Lower Zambezi Bridge opens. Malawi railway connects Salima with Beira. The Lacey Report on migrant labor is published.

1937 Hastings Banda receives his medical degree from Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee, and moves to Scotland.

1939 The Bledisloe Commission Report is published.

193945 World War II: Nyasaland soldiers distinguish themselves in Ethiopian and Burma campaigns.

1941 July: A detachment of the Malawi contingent of the King's African Rifles (KAR) distinguish itself at the siege of Moyale on the KenyaEthiopia border.

1944 Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) organized with Levi Mumba as president.

194445 African Provincial Councils formed.

1946 The Nyasaland Society (later, the Society of Malawi) is founded.

1949 The first Malawians and Asians are appointed to the Legislative Council (LEGCO).

1952 The Nyasaland Asian Convention is created.

1953 The Federation of Nyasaland and Rhodesia is established. Riots take place in Thyolo, and disturbances occur elsewhere in the country. Inkosi Zintonga Philip Gomani of Ntcheu is arrested.

1954 Inkosi Zintonga Philip Gomani dies and is succeeded by his son Willard Gomani. Dr. Hastings K. Banda leaves Great Britain to live in k.u.masi, Gold Coast.

1955 The NAC demands the right to secede from the Federation.

1956 First Africans elected to the Legislative Council. Sir Geoffrey Colby retires as governor and is replaced by Sir Robert Armitage.

1957 The NAC requests Dr. H. Banda to return home.

1958 6 July: Dr. Banda returns home to Malawi and a.s.sumes heads.h.i.+p of the NAC. The League of Malawi Women and League of Malawi Youth are formed.

1959 JanuaryFebruary: NAC nonviolent campaign against Federation and colonial rule. 3 March: "Operation Sunrise" is launched. The governor declares a state of emergency; Dr. Banda and many NAC officials and members are arrested. MayJuly: Devlin Commission investigates and reports. September: First Malawians on Executive Council are appointed. The Malawi Congress Party (MCP) is formed. The Malawi News is established. Lazalo Mkhosi Jere, Inkosi Ya Makosi M'Mbelwa II, dies and is succeeded by his son Makamaka Maxon Jere.

1960 February: Harold Macmillan visits Nyasaland. The Southworth Commission of Inquiry submits its report. MarchOctober: The Monckton Commission gathers evidence and reports to the British government. April: Hastings Banda and many nationalists are released.

1961 April: Glyn Jones succeeds Sir Robert Armitage as governor. August: First general elections in Malawi take place, and the Malawi Congress Party wins overwhelmingly.

1962 November: The Marlborough House conference formalizes self-government for Malawi. The British government announces Nyasaland will withdraw from the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

1963 February: Dr. Banda sworn in as prime minister. The Legislative Council is renamed Legislative a.s.sembly. The Executive Council is replaced by a cabinet system. May: The Organization of African Unity (OAU) is formed. December: The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.

1964 Reserve Bank of Malawi established. May: The Skinner report on civil service is published. 4 July: Malawi becomes independent of British rule. Malawi joins the OAU. September: Cabinet Crisis takes place followed by a major government reorganization. The University of Malawi is established.

1965 February: The rebellion led by Henry Chipembere fails. October: The University of Malawi admits its first students and starts cla.s.ses.

1966 New const.i.tution adopted. July: Malawi becomes a republic within the British Commonwealth; Sir Glyn Jones retires to England as Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda becomes president. First hydroelectric station opens at Nkula Falls. Blantyre is granted city status. The Forfeiture Act permitting seizure of property belonging to "subversives" is pa.s.sed.

1967 Malawi establishes diplomatic relations with South Africa, which also grants loan to build a new capital in Lilongwe. October: Yatuta Kaluli Chisiza leads a group to overthrow the government. The Malawi army kills him and some in his party.

196870 The Chilobwe murders take place, and Gomile k.u.mtumanji is arrested in connection with them.

1969 July: The University of Malawi graduates its first baccalaureate students.

1970 Malawi changes its fiscal year to 1 April31 March.

1971 Hastings Banda is declared life president of Malawi. Cabinet members appointed by president are to be de facto members of the Parliament. Malawi adopts decimal system of currency and introduces the kwacha, abandoning British pounds/s.h.i.+llings. Banda makes controversial state visit to South Africa.

1973 European representation in Parliament ceases.

1974 The MCP const.i.tution equates it with the government of Malawi.

1975 September: Henry Masauko Chipembere dies in the United States. Lilongwe becomes capital of Malawi replacing Zomba.

1976 Albert Muwalo-Nqumayo and Focus Martin Gwede are arrested on suspicion of sedition.

1977 National Traditional Court convicts Muwalo-Nqumayo of sedition and sentences him to death. Focus Gwede, his co-conspirator, is sentenced to life.

1978 Asian businesses required to be in designated urban areas. June: General elections within the one party system held.

1979 Malawi's economic fortunes deteriorate after 15 years of prosperity.

1980 April: Malawi becomes a founding member of the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC).

1981 Functional literacy program starts. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural adjustment of the Malawi economy is initiated. December: Orton, Vera, and Fumbani Chirwa are kidnapped from Chipata, Zambia. Malawi becomes a founding member of the Common Market for Eastern and Central Africa, the 19-member Preferential Trade Area (PTA).

1983 The inauguration of Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe takes place. May: Three cabinet ministers and a member of parliament are murdered in Mwanza district. The National Traditional Court sentences Orton and Vera Chirwa to death. Inkosi ya Makhosi Makamaka Maxon Jere, Mbelwa III, dies and his son Zw.a.n.gendaba Jere succeeds him. June: general elections within the one party system are held. Attati Mpakati of the Socialist League of Malawi (LESOMA) is a.s.sa.s.sinated in Harare, Zimbabwe.

1985 Malawi establishes diplomatic relations with Romania, Albania, and Tanzania.

1986 Meeting in Blantyre between presidents Banda, Kenneth Kaunda, Samora Machel, and Robert Mugabe to discuss the activities of the Mozambique resistance movement in Mozambique. President Machel accuses of supporting Mozambique resistance movement, and threatens to close the MozambiqueMalawi border and deploy missiles along it.

1987 General elections held within the single party system.

1989 Malawi celebrates 25 years of independence.

1990 Gomile k.u.mtumanji dies in prison and has a hero's funeral in his home area of Zomba.

1991 General elections within the one party system take place. External aid to Malawi is greatly reduced because of abuse of human rights. The national economy begins to be affected adversely. Political parties in exile form the United Front for Multi-Party Democracy (UFMD) in Lusaka.

1992 Increased demand for political reform. March: Catholic bishops' pastoral letter is read in all Catholic churches. Chakufwa Chihana openly challenges government to initiate political reform. The government arrests, tries, and imprisons him. May: Riots take place in Blantyre and protesters are shot by police. July: Public Affairs Committee (PAC), Presidential Committee on Dialogue (PCD), and National Consultative Council (NCC) are established. September: Two opposition political parties are formed: the Alliance for Democracy (AFORD) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). The government announces that a national referendum on political change will take place in 1993. October: Orton Chirwa dies in prison and has a nationally attended funeral in Nkata Bay district. The Malawi Financial Post becomes the first independent newspaper. Political prisoner, Machipisa Munthali, is released after 27 years. The Civil Liberties Commission (CLC) is founded to monitor human rights.

1993 June: National referendum takes place and political reform wins overwhelmingly. It is announced that general elections will take place in May 1994. Political exiles are allowed to return to the country. Election campaign begins. President Banda falls ill and is taken to the Garden Clinic, Johannesburg. He returns to Malawi after some weeks, and campaigns. The Law Society of Malawi founds the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), headed by Vera Chirwa. November: Operation Bwezani takes place.

1994 June: Multiparty general elections take place. Hastings Banda and the MCP are defeated. Bakili Muluzi becomes the state president, and the UDF forms a government, which, later in the year, includes members of AFORD. Chakufwa Chihana becomes one of the two vice presidents. The Mtegha Commission looks into the Mwanza murders of 1983. Malawi hosts the PTA summit. The PTA is replaced by the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

1995 Government takes Banda, Cecilia Kadzamira, and John Tembo to court on charges of complicity in the Mwanza murders of 1983. The first major civil service strike takes place. The Malawi Stock Exchange opens.

1996 January: Hastings Banda, former president of Malawi, apologizes to the nation for injustices and human rights violations committed in his name during time in office. March: President Muluzi's government directs that pupils be taught in their mother languages in the first four years of school.

1997 Malawi hosts the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) summit in Blantyre. Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika forms the United Party (UP). On 25 November: Dr. Banda dies at the City Garden Clinic in Johannesburg. December: National funeral for Dr. Banda takes place at the Heroes' Acre in Lilongwe.

1998 The government and Banda's family dispute the former president's will. October: Riots take place in various towns in protest at the rising cost of living. The MCP and the AFORD decide to fight the next general elections as an alliance.

1999 June: General elections are held. Bakili Muluzi and the UDF are returned to power. The MCP and AFORD challenge the results of the elections. The Malawi Democratic Party (MDP) and Congress for National Unity (CNU) also question the results. Postelection violence breaks out against Muslims in parts of northern Malawi. Local government elections are postponed to 2000.

2000 A major dispute in the leaders.h.i.+p of the MCP practically splits the party into two factions. The MCP, AFORD, and MDP lose a court suit challenging the 1999 presidential elections. October: A report of the Public Accounts Committee of the Malawi Parliament details evidence of major fraud in government departments, and cabinet ministers are implicated. The British High Commission in Malawi and the IMF threaten to withhold aid because of evidence of corruption in the government. In a cabinet reshuffle, President Muluzi drops three senior ministers, Ca.s.sim Chilumpha (Education), Peter Chupa (Labour), and Brown Mpinganjira (Public Works). November: Local government elections take place with low turnout. The UDF wins overwhelmingly. The World Bank announces cancellation of half of the external debt.

2001 Serious drought at the end of the year led to famine in 2002.

2002 Drought continues from 2001, affecting Malawi and southern Africa and leading to poor harvest and famine. In the food crisis, the government is accused of selling maize from the National Grain Reserves to Zimbabwe. Funds are unaccounted for, followed by accusations of corruption. Bakili Muluzi announces he will seek amendment of the const.i.tution to enable him to stand for a third term. Opposition to his plans mounts. The MalawiNacala railway line reopens after rehabilitation following the Mozambican civil war.

2003 Opposition to Muluzi's plan for a third term increases as leading churches and civil society unite against it.

2004 Bakili Muluzi announces that he will not seek reelection and that Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika will be the UDF presidential candidate. Seven small opposition parties align under the banner, Mgwirizano, to fight presidential elections, and Gwanda Chakuamba is its candidate. May: general and presidential elections are held. Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika is elected president. The government announces that HIV/AIDS patients will receive free antiviral drugs.

2005 January: Three UDF officials are arrested and charged with treason. Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika leaves the UDF. February: He forms a new party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). June: A UDF-MCP backed attempt to impeach Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika fails. November: Malawi seeks food aid because of famine affecting nearly 5 million people.

2006 Failure of crops leads government to introduce fertilizer subsidies through coupons. April: Vice president Ca.s.sim Chilumpha is accused of treason and arrested. July: Former President Muluzi is arrested on charges of corruption. October: A controversial decision grants U.S. pop singer Madonna temporary authority to adopt David Banda Mwale. Inkosi Willard Gomani dies and is succeeded by his son Alex Kanjedza Gomani.

2007 Many UDF and MCP members of the National a.s.sembly switch to the DPP. Throughout the year the National a.s.sembly is almost in a stalemate as it is transfixed on Section 65 of the const.i.tution, which bars sitting members from changing parties. There is a delay in approval of the budget. Attempts to impeach the president fail. May: There is evidence of a b.u.mper harvest of maize and the government sells 4,000 tons of it to Zimbabwe. President Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika's wife, Ethel, pa.s.ses away. Inkosi Kanjedza Alex Gomani dies and is succeeded by his son, Willard Kanjeda Msawti Gomani.

2008 January: Malawi recognizes the People's Republic of China, terminating 44 years of diplomatic relations with Taiwan. President Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika accuses Bakili Muluzi of plotting against him, which results in the arrest of former senior security officers and some UDF member notables. The DPP confirms Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika as its presidential candidate. Bakili Muluzi is nominated as the UDF's presidential candidate.

2009 The Malawi Electoral Commission and, later, the Malawi Const.i.tutional Court bar Muluzi from contesting the presidency. The UDF and MCP align for purposes of the elections; John Tembo becomes the alliance's flag bearer. May: Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika wins the presidential elections, and his DPP wins majority of seats in the National a.s.sembly. John Tembo disputes the results before he is persuaded to accept them. June: A new cabinet is appointed, the most notable changes include Etta Banda as foreign minister, replacing Joyce Banda, now the vice president. The finance minister, Goodall Gondwe, is moved to Local Government and Rural Development; Ken Kandodo replaces him in the Treasury.

2010 January: President Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika is elected chairman of the African Union. April: Bingu weds Calista Chapola-Chimombo, a former minister of tourism. April: Aleke Banda pa.s.ses away at a clinic in Johannesburg. July: Amid controversy, the government modifies the shape of the flag. August: The president reshuffles his cabinet, dropping Goodall Gondwe, Patricia Kaliati, and Khumbo Kachali. December: Vice president Joyce Banda and former cabinet minister Khumbo Kachali lose their positions as vice presidents of the Democratic Progressive Party.

2011 January: Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika hands over the chairmans.h.i.+p of the African Union to his successor. February: Against widespread opposition in Malawi and abroad, the government amends Section 46 of the Penal Code to allow the minister of information to ban publications and circulation of publications viewed to be "contrary to the public interest." The inspector general of police, Peter Mukhito, questions a member of faculty at the University of Malawi's Chancellor College on a lecture he gave in cla.s.s. In reaction, academic staff at the college and the Polytechnic boycott cla.s.ses in defense of academic freedom. March: Following death threats on the leaders.h.i.+p of the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), thugs vandalize the organization's offices. Faculty defy President Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika's order that they resume teaching. April: The University of Malawi Council expels three members of faculty at Chancellor College and closes the college and the Polytechnic. The Academic Staff Union obtains a court injunction to halt the council's decision. The government expels the British High Commissioner following a leaked report he sent to the British government on, among other things, the worsening dictatorial tendencies of the Malawi president. In response, the British government asks the Malawi envoy to leave Great Britain and reviews the bilateral relations between the two countries. Vice president Joyce Banda forms a new political organization, the People's Party (PP), and among those on its executive committee is Brown Mpiganjira, a founder of the UDP and a senior cabinet minister in President Bakili Muluzi's government. May: Mzuzu University is closed until its financial problems are resolved. The British government cuts aid to Malawi, and the Foreign Office announces the cancellation of the special visa status granted to senior Malawi government officials, including the president and vice president. President Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika appoints Dr. Brown Chimphamba to head a commission of inquiry into the situation at Chancellor College and the Polytechnic. July: Despite an injunction by pro-government activists, civil society leaders organize demonstrations throughout the country on the 20th to protest against corruption, mismanagement, erosion of human rights, increasing poverty, and shortage of fuel. Civil society organizers forward a pet.i.tion to President Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika asking him to attend to Malawi's problems. In Mzuzu, police kill 9 people, and one dies later in hospital. Countrywide, 20 deaths occur, including in Blantyre and Lilongwe. Looting of some business premises takes place in the main cities. The government is criticized nationally and internationally for its reaction to the protests. Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika accuses the protest organizers of treason and vows to deal with them severely. The Millennium Challenge Corporation places hold on the $350 million Malawi compact. August: Christian and Muslim leaders organize a National day of prayer on the 16th. Civil society postpones national demonstrations due to take place in the 17th of the month. It is also announced that an official of the United Nations will try to mediate between the government and civil society. Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika threatens to arrest his major critics. September: On 2 September, the offices of the NGO, Inst.i.tute for Policy Interaction, headed by human rights activist Rafi Hajat who is also the founder of the Malawi chapter of Transparency International, were burned down by arsonists. On 6 September, by-elections take place in central Rumphi const.i.tuency following the death of DPP Member of Parliament Moses Chirambo in August 2010. AFORD's Enoch China wins, defeating three other candidates, including the ruling DPPs Norman Nyirenda. On 7 September, President Bingu wa m.u.t.h.arika reshuffles his cabinet, dropping Etta Banda, Ken Kandodo, David Mphande, Abbie Shawa, Ritchie Muheya, Anna Kachiko, Thersa Mwale, and Eunice Kazembe. Some deputy ministers, including musician Billy Kaunda, are also left out. In a smaller cabinet, Goodall Gondwe and Patricia Kaliati return as minister of natural resources, energy, and environment, and minster of information and civic education, respectively. Also included is the president's wife, Callista. However, Vice President Joyce Banda is excluded from the cabinet. On 11 September, the house of the Rev. Macdonald Sembereka of the Anglican church, who is the national coordinator of the Human Rights Consultative Committee (HRCC), is petrol-bombed and totally burned.

Introduction.

Scottish people call Malawi "Livingstone's Country" partly because Dr. David Livingstone drew British attention to the existence of the area and partly because after his death in neighboring Zambia in 1873, Scottish Presbyterian missions set up operations there, establis.h.i.+ng a major influence that continues to be felt today. Malawians themselves prefer to call their country "the Warm Heart of Africa," being a reflection of the friendliness of its inhabitants. Formerly a colony of Great Britain, known as Nyasaland, Malawi a.s.sumed its present name on 6 July 1964, when it became a sovereign nation-state; two years later, it was transformed into a republic within the British Commonwealth.

Land and People Landlocked, Malawi borders on Tanzania to the northeast, Mozambique to the southeast, south, and southwest, and Zambia to the west. Some 560 miles long from north to south, 5 to 150 miles wide, it is blessed with fairly fertile soils, adequate rainfall (25 to 35 inches) most seasons, and temperatures that range between 57F (14C) in the cold-dry season (May to August), rising to 84F (29C) in the warm-dry season (September to April). One of the most scenic countries in Africa, Malawi's landscape is dominated by the 360-mile-long Lake Malawi, which forms part of the southern section of the Great Rift Valley and drains into the Indian Ocean through its outlet, the s.h.i.+re River, itself a major tributary of the Zambezi, which flows into the ocean. There are four smaller lakes, Phalombe, Chiuta and Chilwa in the south, and Kazuni in the north. The actual land ma.s.s is 36,325 square miles and consists largely of plateaus, highlands, and a few mountains; among the most notable of these are Nyika and Viphya plateaus in the north, DedzaKirk Mountain range in the center, and in the south, the s.h.i.+re Highlands with its two prominent ma.s.sifs, Zomba (6,841 feet) and Mulanje (9,849 feet).

A large percentage of the roughly 13 million Malawi peoples live along the various lakesh.o.r.es, the s.h.i.+re Valley and near the rivers in the plateau and highland regions, which are part of the Lake Malawi drainage system. There is also a major concentration of population in the fertile s.h.i.+re Highlands and in the urban centers, princ.i.p.ally Blantyre, Zomba, Lilongwe, and Mzuzu. The prevailing economic hards.h.i.+ps in Malawi have accelerated migration from rural to urban areas, in which unprecedented problems, including a shortage of housing, jobs, and health facilities, must be dealt with. This is exacerbated by the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) virus, a factor that not only is likely to affect the projected 0.03 percent annual growth in the population, but which will certainly adversely affect the development of the much-needed human resources.

Largely because Malawi has always been the poorest country in southern Africa, many of its peoples have frequently migrated to the mines and commercial farms in the region. In fact, from the beginning of the 19th century, Malawi became one of the major catchment areas of the labor recruiting agencies from South Africa and southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). There, the Nyasas, the people from Nyasaland, generally established themselves as reliable hard workers. The money the labor migrants remitted home formed an important aspect of foreign exchange earnings for the country.

About 75 percent of Malawians are Christians, 20 percent Muslims, and the rest practice indigenous religions; there are also some Hindus, mainly among the Asian trading community. English is the official language of communication in schools, bureaucracy, and Parliament; however, the majority of Malawians speak chiChewa, also known as ciNyanja. Other notable languages are ciYao, ciLomwe, and ciSena in the southern region and ciTumbuka, ciTonga, Kyangonde, ciLambya/Nyiha, and Sukwa/Ndali in the north.

Most peoples practice mixed agriculture, that is, they grow food and cash crops and raise animals, mainly cattle and goats. Those near lakes and rivers also fish, some of which they dry and sell upcountry. The main food crops are maize, ca.s.sava, rice, and beans, and the leading cash crops are tobacco, tea, cotton, sugar, and groundnuts, all of which are exported mostly to Malawi's princ.i.p.al trading partners, South Africa, the European Union, and the United States. In the 1970s and 1980s, Malawi consistently produced surplus food, but, despite this, the country has been riddled by poverty-related problems such as recurring malnutrition and child mortality. This is largely attributed to the fact that the policy of the first postcolonial government favored the estate sector represented by politicians and expatriate interests. There has been little foreign investment in this southern African country. However, except for the 199294 period, Malawi has regularly received development aid, which has mostly been invested into the improvement of education, transport and communications, health, and agricultural programs.

Early History The early occupation of Malawi by Stone Age peoples was a function of environment, that is, they chose sites that provided a favorable game and water supply. Most of the early Stone Age sites may be found along the lakesh.o.r.e and in the river valleys. Later, Stone Age humans were more adaptable and more venturesome, often occupying the upland regions of Malawi. The artifacts of the later Stone Age, which presently is estimated to have begun 10,000 years ago, consist of very specialized microliths and comparatively sophisticated rock paintings.

From the second to third centuries, Malawi was extensively occupied by iron-working agriculturalists. These cultivators, who coexisted with the men and women of the later Stone Age, introduced the earliest pottery known to date, called Nkope ware. In their permanent settlements at Nkope Bay, these people produced many bowls with decorated rims. Their diet, probably consisting of fish, turtle, wild game, cereals, and vegetables, was cooked and served in these bowls. Archaeologists have discerned a later type of pottery, called Kapeni, which was produced sometime between the 10th and the 13th centuries. The Kapeni pot makers apparently had contact with the Nkope ware makers. The Kapeni potters also were influential when the Maravi peoples migrated into the area: a pedestal-based bowl has been found to be common to both Kapeni and Mawudzu potters. Mawudzu pottery (dated 15th to 17th centuries) was produced throughout the period of Maravi dominance.

The Maravi or Phiri migrated into the Lake Malawi area probably during the drought period of 14009. Linguistic evidence and oral tradition suggest that they originated from Luba country in the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo; tradition also says that c.h.i.n.khole Phiri and his mother, Nyangu, led the migrating party. Successors to c.h.i.n.khole were known by the t.i.tle Kalonga, and they settled at Mathimba, near the southwestern sh.o.r.es of the lake. In all likelihood, the formation and rise of the Kalonga state was a slow process, developing as the invaders interacted with the existing pre-Chewa inhabitants, including the Mbewe and Banda. Ruling from about 1480 to the early 18th century, the Kalonga dynasty had many effective rulers, one of whom was Chidzonzi (150530). He is credited with integrating Maravi leaders by the use of annual religious ceremonies, such as the Mlira cult, and by a.s.signing various headmen with specific responsibilities within the state. While recognizing the pre-Chewa religious shrines, such as the one at Msinja, and using them to gain and maintain the support of the autochthones, the Phiri, as Kalongas, promoted their own so as to consolidate their authority over the region.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Maravi extended their political influence into adjacent areas; as some members of the Phiri group chose to become independent of the Kalonga, new kingdoms were established. One such separatist group, led by Kaphwiti and his nephew Lundu, developed its own polities in the Lower s.h.i.+re Valley and western s.h.i.+re Highlands. By the mid-17th century the Lundu bureaucracy was well established near present-day Chiromo and continued to expand eastward into the Makua-Lolo area in Mozambique.

The westward Maravi expansion was led by Undi who, with his followers, occupied the area north of Tete, along the Kapoche River. Migration from the main Kalonga kingdom also occurred northward into other Chewa localities and into the Tumbuka and Tonga-speaking areas: Mwase, Chulu, and Kaluluma in Kasungu and its periphery, Kanyenda in Nkota Kota, and Kabunduli in Nkhata Bay. By the 17th century, the Kalonga were based at Manthimba at the southern end of the lake; his subordinates were the southern and western and northern strongholds in the Maravi confederacy. Often dynastic differences would dissolve as economic concerns, especially the ivory trade with the Portuguese at Tete, united them.

After reaching its zenith in the 17th century, the empire declined. Those Maravi kings who traded in ivory, iron, and slaves with the Portuguese and the Arabs grew increasingly independent of the Kalonga. The sheer distances in administering the empire was another factor that affected the decentralization of the Kalonga's confederacy. By the early 1800s, it had virtually collapsed.

The area immediately north of the Maravi sphere was inhabited by Tumbuka-speaking peoples who practiced mixed agriculture and whose political system was decentralized in the sense that it was clan-based. Groups migrating into the area tended to adopt the language and organization of the autochthones, and among the immigrants were the Phoka and the Nkhamanga. As a result of this integration and cultural layering, linguistic differences are found between Tumbuka speakers in the RumphiChitipaKaronga districts and the Nkhata BayMzimba districts.