The chewa are bantu people found in malawi zambia zimbabwe and mozambique.

Malawi tribes before colonization. African societies before the slave trade and colonization. The region was once part of the maravi empire. The country achieved full independence as malawi in 1964.

Before colonialism people were tied more to their tribes but because one tribe alone could not kick out the british many tribes came together and created a sense of nationalism. The history of malawi covers the area of present day malawi. The earliest known settled kingdom in the region of lake nyasa is that of the maravi confederacy.

These include chewa nyanja yao tumbuka lomwe sena tonga ngoni ngonde asian and european. The consolidation of these tribes into what would be known as the marvai empire was reported during the 16th century by the arrival of portuguese traders. They originated from malabo democratic republic of congo before migrating to zambia in late 1400.

Colonialism also increased a sence of nationalism and patriotism with in malawi. The yao people are predominately found around the southern area of lake malawi and the tumbuka are found mainly in the north of the country. The shores of lake malawi have been inhabited for thousands of years and recent archaeological excavations have revealed evidence of settlements dating back to the late stone and iron ages.

Established by bantu speaking peoples in about 1480 and continuing into the 18th century the confederacy controls territory west from the great lake to the luangwa river south to the zambezi and east to the coast. In colonial times the territory was ruled by the british under whose control it was known first as british central africa and later nyasaland. African societies before the slave trade and colonization were characterised by iron age kingdoms forming centralised states as well as groups of nomads that had not formed centralised bureaucracies.

The chichewa chewa people form the largest part of the population group and are largely in the central and southern parts of malawi. After independence malawi was ruled as a one party state under hastings banda until 1994. Ethnic groups of malawi chewa.

It became part of the federation of rhodesia and nyasaland. 16th 18th century. The majority of the present population descend from bantu tribes who arrived in the region some time before the first arab slave traders and portuguese explorers.

By the 10th and 11th centuries ad coinciding with the iron age the bantu tribes began migrating into the area from the congo. People were forced together by a common enemy.