1. THE NGONI PEOPLE OF MALAWI

Umnxeba omfitshane....

The Ngoni people of Malawi are predominantly in Mzimba - Jele clan & Ntcheu - Maseko clan. The Maseko Ngoni originated from Swaziland while the Jele Ngoni originated from Zululand.

2. The Jele (corrupted to Jere) Ngonis are the descendants of Zwangendaba & are found in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia & Tanzania. We discussed them extensively in the thread about the Zwangendaba's long journey.

3. There are many theories of how the Maseko Ngonis and Jele Ngonis trekked north. Others place the split before the crossing of the Zambezi River. Others however, say these were two different migrations & although closely related in time, were not taken as a joint enterprise.

4. Both groups who came over to Malawi were small bands of people, but because they had superior military skills & political skills of assimilating those they conquered, their numbers grew as they moved along.

5. The Maseko Ngoni under Ngwane Maseko settled at Ntcheu after crossing the Zambezi River around 1839. Ngwane Maseko was succeeded by his brother Magadlela as regent until his heir, Mputha was old enough to be king.

6. Anothe group of Ngoni which had split earlier from the Jele Ngonis after the death of Zwangendaba are known as the Gwangara Ngoni & were under the leadership of Zulu Gama.

7. Due to assimilation of local tribes, the Maseko Ngonis & Jele Ngonis are dominated by the Chewa & Tumbuka language & customs respectively. The Jele Ngonis are not all of Zulu-Ndwandwe descent & neither are the Maseko Ngonis all of Swati descent.

8. Another video on the Ngoni of Malawi. The videos are courtesy of @MimiReeds