Malawi is a long, narrow country in southeast Africa. It comprises 118 thousand square kilometers, about a fifth of which is the nation's share of Lake Nyasa(1). This lake, Africa's fourth largest, straddles more than two-thirds of the eastern border and continues further south in Malawi's center. Small rivers drain into its western shore, and its outlet is the Shire River, which exits the lake's southern extremity and heads to the nation's tip on its way to the Zambezi(2). West of the lake is plateau, ranging in height from 437 meters at the shore to 2,600 meters in the Nyika Uplands in the northwest. South of the lake the Shire highlands reach 3,000 meters, but the river valley drops off the plateau as it heads south.
About 11 and a half million people live here (2007) and more than two-thirds of them speak Nyanja(3). About one in ten speak Yao and nearly than many, Tumbuka. The rest speak a variety of mostly Bantu languages. English is spoken by few as a first language but, along with Nyanga and Tumbuka, it is an official language.
About seven in ten(4) are Christians (mostly Roman Catholic or Presbyterian Calvinist Protestant). About two in ten are Moslems, mostly Sunni. The remaning one in ten mostly follow indiginous religions. Even among followers of the world religions, older ways persist. For example, the Yao's rite of passage for boys includes annointing them with millet-four prior to circumcision.(5)
No city has a million people. The capital, Lilonge, has more than 700 thousand (2007). It is located west of the lake on the Lilongwe river. Attractions include the monumental Parliament Building, a former palace, and an urban nature preserve.
Bantu speakers moved into the area more than a thousand years ago. Nyanja-speakers claim a migration from central Africa several centuries ago. They became pre-eminent just before the British arrived. The Tumbuka claim an origin as ivory traders from the Indian Ocedan who moved to northern Malawi in the 18th century. The Yao were expanding up the Shire River in the 19th century when Europeans arrived. Their extensive contacts with the Swahili coast led to the local introduction of Islam. Zulu conquerors, calling themselves Ngoni, ruled most of Malawi starting in the 19th century, but left little linguistic impact. Still some Ngoni are said to use the Ngoni dialect in rituals and songs. Christianity became significant with Scottish missionaries in the 19th century. This coincided with British colonial, which ended in the late 19th century.
north and northeast
southeast, south and southwest
west, from the center and north
(1) Also called Lake Malawi, or--in Mozambique--Lake Niassa.
(2) Also spelled Zambeze.
(3) This language has several names, including Chewa or chiChewa. Some Nyanja speakers consider themselves ethnic Ngoni, although they do not speak Ngoni (a from of Zulu).
4) Www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/23718 (accessed 7/9/2007). Www.africaguide.com/country/malawi/culture (accessed 7/9/2007) puts Christians at three-quarters and indiginous religions at one in 20.
(5) Mary Tew, Peoples of the lake Nyasa region (Oxford University Press, 1950), cited in Andrew Dalby, Dictionary of Language (Columbia University Press, 1998).