Mwanga people

Namwanga or Nyamwanga (Wanyamwanga in Swahili) are a Bantu ethnic group native to Momba District in Songwe Region of Tanzania, northeastern Zambia, and Northern Malawi.

The queen of Winamwanga on the Zambian side, a woman, carries the title of Nawaitwika and is based in Nakonde District in Zambia across the Tanzanian border.

The main traditional ceremonies practiced by Winamwanga are: Vikamkanimba, Ng’ondo, Chambo Chalutanga, and Mulasa.

After her death, Evelyn, who was born in Zambia and lived in Mufulira with her husband was later appointed as the current Nawaitwika.

After the partitioning of boundaries, the headquarters of the Namwanga people remained in Tanganyika or Tanzania under King Mukoma.

Chief Nawaitwika didn't want to fight her own blood brother, and in turn stopped her troops from attacking the break away group and simply said, "walekani wasende ing'oma yawufumu awiwa" (let them take the royal drum they're thieves).

We see examples of such use in names like Siwale, whose female counterpart is Nawale or Namwila, Simukonda and Namukonda, Sikaundi and Nakaundi, Sichone and Namonje, Sikombe and Nakaponda, Sinkala and Nambela, Sichalwe and Nachalwe, Sikana and Nakana, Simwanza and Nakawala etc.

They also rear cattle (a main store of wealth and currency for marriage transactions), sheep, goats, poultry and pigeons.

Winamwanga are teased often by members of other ethnic groups for their fondness for kumbi or pupwe, a vegetable with a slippery quality like okra.

The kumbi is usually mixed with beans and served with nshima, (a thick maize meal porridge) common among Africans.

The man sends a trusted friend or relative as go-between (kateya wa mpango) to the parents of the woman, to convey his interest in marrying their daughter.

The purpose or status of these associations is often discussed as "embryonic political organisations" (Gray 1990:100), "non-political" by former member Pakasa Makasa (1985:31), and described as "indigenous nationalism" by other scholars.