Currently, the Ngoni under inkosi Mpherembe are located in the north-western part of Mzimba District in northern Malawi. They emerged as a distinct group after the succession crisis that erupted following the death of Zwangendaba in 1848 in the Ufipa area in the southwestern part of modern Tanzania. Mpherembe (born Lufo)¹⁸ was one of Zwangendaba’s sons from his wife Muhambose Cheche, who belonged to the ‘Emqiseni’ house, which was later coined as ‘Emcisweni’ by the Tumbuka, because of pronunciation challenges. Zwangendaba had several wives with distinct social statuses and specific responsibilities. In the case of Lufo’s mother, her house was responsible for the funeral rites, hence the name Emqiseni.¹⁹

The Zwangendaba Ngoni embarked on migration following Zwide’s defeat at the hands of Shaka Zulu.²⁰ They passed through modern Eswatini, southern Mozambique, then modern Zimbabwe and eastern Zambia, until they entered Malawi and reached the Mabiri area, south of Loudon (now Embangweni) in Mzimba District, in 1840.²¹ Lufo was among the three sons of Zwangendaba born at Mabiri; others were Mabilabo and M’mbelwa.²² While at Mabiri, the Ngoni raided other areas as far as Ufipa in modern Tanzania, and returned with red cattle with long horns (izinkomo zamaphembe).²³ This prompted Zwangendaba to leave Mabiri for Ufipa country.²⁴ After reaching Mapupo, Zwangendaba died around 1848 and was buried on the Zambian side of the road between Nakonde and Mbale.²⁵

Zwangendaba’s death at Mapupo led to succession disputes and splits, giving rise to the Mpherembe (Lufo) group as a distinct sub-ethnic entity. Ngodoyi, son of Ntabeni, was the first to move out soon after his father’s death. Ngodoyi led his group northwards to the northern shores of Lake Tanganyika, where they became known as the Tuta. Zulu Gama’s group was the next, and went eastwards to Songeya in Southern Tanzania. They were followed by Gwaza Jere, who led the main group that looked to M’mbelwa for leadership, southward to Tumbuka country.²⁶ Their move was followed by that of Mpezeni and Matchumi Jere (a regent to Lufo), who led their followers into eastern Zambia, where they later clashed with the Lungu, Bisa and Bemba in the 1850s. Later, Lufo separated from Mpezeni and returned to be under M’mbelwa around the 1870s.²⁷ Mpezeni, however, proceeded and defeated Chewa chief M’bang’ombe in 1860, and he finally settled in Fort Jameson (modern-day Chipata) in Zambia around 1873.²⁸ But before they parted ways, Lufo and Mpezeni together caused havoc among the Bisa to the extent that some of them were forced to migrate as far as the shores of Lake Malawi. For example, Dr David Livingstone first heard of the Ngoni in September 1861, when he spoke with some Bisa immigrants, such as Marenga, then living on the shores of Lake Malawi (in the southern part of Nkhota-kota).²⁹

The separation of Lufo and Mpezeni is often presented in two versions. The written version maintains that Matchumi Jere, a regent to Emqiseni house, caused Mpezeni and Lufo to quarrel, hence the separation.³⁰ However, the oral version stipulates that there was no quarrel of any kind and that Mpezeni and Lufo merely agreed to part ways to have adequate living space for each one and his followers.³¹ Nevertheless, it should be noted that it was within the nature of the evolving Ngoni community for leaders to part ways. The Ngoni used to say, ‘Indoda iyozibonera’ (a man should fend for himself).³² In this case, it can be assumed that Mpherembe and Mpezeni parted ways because each wanted to be autonomous.

After this separation, Lufo went eastward, passing through Chinsali and present-day Chama North in modern Zambia, to raid the Bemba once again.³³ It was in this area that Lufo adopted the name Mpherembe, meaning a fierce Eland Antelope.³⁴ This was probably also the time when Lufo got another name, Mwamba, which was one of the titles of influential Bemba chiefs.³⁵ He probably earned this name because some Bemba regarded him as their Mwamba (chief). He incorporated many of them into his group, as evidenced by the presence of clans such as Mumba, Ng’ona, Ngoma and Mbeba.³⁶ Mpherembe’s Ngoni stayed in north-east Zambia from 1856 to around 1870, when they were expelled from the area by the Bemba Chief Chitapankwa, with the help of firearms from the Swahili-Arab warlord Tippu Tip, following a battle at Chipekeni. This defeat forced Mpherembe to flee to the northeast, where he found sanctuary with the Namwanga chief Chikanamuluo, from where he later moved south to reunite with M’Mbelwa in Malawi.³⁷ This group of Ngoni remained relatively strong in what is now eastern Zambia for about 14 years. This is evidenced by the presence of Bemba and Bisa stocks in Mpherembe’s area.³⁸

From Bemba country, Mpherembe Ngoni went eastwards into Tumbuka country, where they first settled at Mwazisi in western Rumphi. From all accounts, the Mpherembe Ngoni met no resistance from the Tumbuka of Nkhamanga because, by this time, Tumbuka country had already experienced the plundering habits of the M’mbelwa Ngoni. In addition, the Tumbuka inhabitants were sparsely scattered, and there was only one strong Tumbuka ruler called Mnyanjagha Bota, who was living along the Rukuru River in the Zaro-Manoro area to the west of Mpherembe’s headquarters. According to a recent version, Mnyanjagha was the initial title of the Tumbuka rulers before they were influenced by the intrusion of the Chewa, Balowoka, Senga, and finally the Ngoni.³⁹ However, Mnyanjagha Bota did not resist the Ngoni intrusion, and because of that, his authority survived, and his headmanship continued to be recognised with considerable respect by the Ngoni.⁴⁰

The Ngoni under Mpherembe then proceeded until they met their fellow M’mbelwa Ngoni at Choma, where Mpherembe recognised the paramountcy of M’Mbelwa and pledged to be loyal to him. From that point onwards, Mpherembe’s salutation changed from Ba-eti to ‘Eti Baba’, as only M’mbelwa could be saluted as a ‘Baeti’ in recognition of his paramount status, whereas other Jere chiefs continued to be saluted as ‘E-Jere’.⁴¹ Following the reunion, M’mbelwa led his followers southwards to Njuyu, while Mpherembe initially settled at Muyobe but later led his people to the area along the Tchesamu River and finally settled along the Jombo River, where he built his headquarters called Emqiseni, and he died in 1909. Chigagu ascended to the throne upon the death of his father, Mpherembe. Chigagu left his deceased father’s headquarters and founded a new Emqiseni village between the South Rukulu River and the Matimba River in 1911 in Mkosana Nsere’s area. This practice of leaving the deceased chief’s village to find a new one was common among Nguni groups. For example, Lobengula, the Ndebele ruler in pre-colonial Zimbabwe, left and burnt the old Bulawayo of his father and established a new one after becoming the Ndebele king in 1868.⁴² However, Chigagu died on 18 March 1914 and was succeeded by his brother Chinombo, who acted as regent to Pickford (Chigagu’s son), who was very young by this time.⁴³ Chinombo then decided to shift Mpherembe’s headquarters back to the old Emqiseni near Enkondhlweni along the Jombo River for a permanent settlement to the present.⁴⁴

The Jombo area was preferred to Matimba because the river (Jombo) provided perennial water for domestic purposes and cattle, whereas the Matimba area was situated along the tsetse fly belt and was also infested with mosquitoes. Another reason for choosing Jombo was its proximity to other Ngoni of Mtwalo for easier communication.⁴⁵ The last probable reason was that Chinombo, being a product of Livingstonia mission, wanted to be in constant contact with the missionaries at Enkondhlweni. So, this made Chinombo and other Mpherembe Ngoni change the name of Emqiseni established by Chigagu to Maole, meaning ‘the place where the chief died’.⁴⁶ Despite this, some of the relatives of Mpherembe I, including one of his widows, remained in the Matimba area and were later joined by Esau Jere in 1931. Esau Jere succeeded Chinombo after he died in 1921 as regent to Pickford for 10 years, but refused to hand over the throne in 1931. After some interventions by the Mzimba District Resident, Pickford assumed his office as the Principal Headman, but complained that his uncle Esau was opposing him. However, in 1932, Councillor Malidade Jere died, and the Ngoni had to appoint Esau as his successor.⁴⁷ Eventually, Esau moved to the abandoned Emqiseni situated along the Matimba River to stop him from interfering with Pickford.⁴⁸ Esau led this group to reject the Maole name and insisted on calling their location Emqiseni to the extent that the actual Mpherembe’s Emqiseni became mistakenly known as Enkondhlweni.⁴⁹ Enkondhlweni (meaning tabernacle) was a village that had the first school and church under the Livingstonia mission in the Mpherembe area, after a long resistance by Mpherembe the first. Even a school was opened in the Maole area bearing the name Emqiseni. This implicit antagonism over the name of Emqiseni contributed to the persistence of linguistic and other features of Ngoni culture in the area. This was because each camp wanted to maintain the original Emqiseni name with its traditional role among the M’mbelwa Ngoni. It was only resolved by the Livingstonia mission in the 1980s to break the Emqiseni (now popularly known as Emcisweni) congregation into two because of large membership. The Maole or Malidadi area now became ‘Emcisweni Two’ to distinguish it from the old Emcisweni (Emcisweni One), the present-day headquarters of Chief Mpherembe.⁵⁰

At the linguistic level, the Mpherembe Ngoni, just like their fellow M’mbelwa Ngoni, wanted to suppress all other languages and make their own the only one. This consciousness made the M’mbelwa Ngoni, initially, compel the Chewa, Tumbuka, Tonga and Senga to master isingoni in all official conversations.⁵¹ Consequently, the Ngoni language influenced the Chewa and Tumbuka languages.⁵² For example, the Tumbuka adopted Ngoni words, such as chibaya for the cattle kraal, derived from the Ngoni word isibaya, and also adopted their ways of expressing courtesy by using an individual’s surname.⁵³ In addition, chitumbuka (Tumbuka language) and isingoni influenced each other to the extent that linguists have found it problematic to standardise chitumbuka.⁵⁴ As for the Ngoni language, it began to be modified and, in most cases, supplanted by chitumbuka. This was noted by earlier missionaries such as Donald Fraser, who had to say this⁵⁵: ‘When one compares Chingoni with Zulu, the differences come from the Tumbuka influences …’

Despite the Tumbuka influence, the Ngoni of Mpherembe retained their language to a higher degree than their fellow M’mbelwa Ngoni and even those of Mpezeni in Eastern Zambia. Among the Mpezeni Ngoni, isingoni is heard only in songs and praises, while the normal language used in everyday life is a dialect of Chinsenga.⁵⁶ The Mpherembe Ngoni noted the dilution of Ngoni language with the Tumbuka language when they joined their fellow Ngoni in Malawi from Zambia. This made Inkosi (Chief) Mpherembe (the first) conservative, hence enforced rules that barred wanton intermarriages between Ngoni and Tumbuka. Unlike M’mbelwa, Mpherembe’s approach was similar to Mzilikazi Ndebele’s stratified strategy in Zimbabwe, where they forbade intermarriages between different ethnic groups.⁵⁷ Mpherembe used to say that cattle should be exchanged among the Abezansi (Ngoni proper) only, and not with the Abafo (serfs), to which the Tumbuka belonged.⁵⁸ This strict intermarriage prohibition was effective up to as early as the 1950s.⁵⁹

Apart from that, the Ngoni of Mpherembe assimilated the captives as individuals, as opposed to M’mbelwa, who incorporated captured youth into regiments depending on their ethnic groups.⁶⁰ This made the captured individuals in Mpherembe lose their identities much faster than those of M’mbelwa.⁶¹ These assimilated serfs were forced to be at Sangweni (men’s communal gathering) to learn Ngoni traditions, while the captured females were under the guidance of Ngoni women for them to be fully incorporated. Even Ngoni boys spent most of their time herding livestock and sitting at the Sangweni, enjoying their food while listening to elders’ discussions.⁶²

Additionally, the Ngoni of Mpherembe maintained and promoted Ngoni funeral rites assigned to them by Zwangendaba as discussed above. These rites earned Inkosi Mpherembe respect among his fellow M’mbelwa Ngoni chiefs.⁶³ This respect led the Ngoni of Mpherembe to produce a renowned praise singer (imbongi), Belama Jere. Belama Jere was recognised by the Ngoni chiefs in 1964 when they paid a courtesy call at the Malawi State House as part of the festivities celebrating Malawi’s independence on 06 July 1964.⁶⁴ Later, he became very influential during Ngoni festivals, like the revived Mabiri celebrations and during the installation of new Ngoni chiefs.⁶⁵

Furthermore, some indigenous Tumbuka authorities, such as Eneya Kumwenda and Matchisano Mkandawire, were elevated to headmanship. Additionally, the Mpherembe Ngoni recognised and consolidated the already existing authority of Mnyanjagha Bota. This accolade was given to these influential Tumbuka people so that the whole Tumbuka community in the area should feel part and parcel of the Ngoni society.⁶⁶ It was also done to control the Tumbuka indirectly through their influential and respected leaders. In that way, the Mpherembe Ngoni continued to maintain their language and culture.⁶⁷ The above attempts made the Mpherembe Ngoni preserve their language through the efforts of fathers, hence it might be called ‘father language’ as many Ngoni children learned it from their fathers and not mothers.⁶⁸

This status quo continued from the time of their settlement up to the early 1950s. As such, many areas or villages still speak Chingoni in Mpherembe. They include Emphangweni, Malidade, Chibhekeni, Nzungula, Changoma, Magido, Ezweleni, Zikhuba, Enkondhlweni, Etyungeni, Langa, Samala Nqumayo, Mkosana Nsere, Enkweleni, Mwamba, Lufukaazi and Manzini, among others.⁶⁹ The Mpherembe Ngoni were also influenced by the Livingstonia missionaries, which had a bearing on the Ngoni language.

As was the case with the rest of the M’mbelwa Ngoni, the people of Mpherembe also came to be steadily influenced by the Livingstonia missionaries of the Free Church of Scotland from the 1890s onwards. The Livingstonia missionaries, under Dr. Robert Laws, established their first contact with the Ngoni under M’mbelwa in 1879, a year after they opened an observation post at Kaning’ina near the present-day Mzuzu city, which was later closed because it was in no man’s land.⁷⁰ During that time, Dr. Laws discussed with M’mbelwa the idea of opening up the area for missionary work, and M’mbelwa showed interest, not for religion’s sake, but due to anticipated material benefits from the missionaries. In 1881, Dr. Laws visited M’mbelwa for the second time, together with William Koyi and other European missionaries, when M’mbelwa allowed them to operate only in his area. William Koyi was a Xhosa brought from the Lovedale Mission, South Africa, to help the Livingstonia missionaries in their pioneering work in colonial Malawi. Koyi’s Xhosa language was closer to that of the Ngoni; hence, he acted as an interpreter between the Ngoni and the Livingstonia missionaries.⁷¹ By this time, the Ngoni were still at loggerheads with the Tonga (not related to those in modern Zambia); hence, they viewed missionaries as potential allies against the Tonga. That was followed by the opening of mission stations in Ngoniland, like Njuyu in 1882, Ekwendeni in 1889 and Embangweni or Hora in 1895.⁷²

Despite the acceptance of missionaries by M’mbelwa and other Ngoni chiefs, most people were not in favour of Christianity. They visited the mission station out of curiosity, while others were attracted only by the gifts of cloth provided by the missionaries.⁷³ Mpherembe was one of the chiefs who continued to resist the missionaries until 1897. Missionary expeditions were repulsed on several occasions because they could not provide Inkosi Mpherembe with clothes and other goods that were of greater interest to him than Christianity and education.⁷⁴ He also did this probably because he was still enjoying his supremacy as a recent comer in the 1870s, hence did not want to be challenged by these missionaries. However, in 1897, through the work of Donald Fraser and Charles Stuart, Inkosi Mpherembe allowed the Livingstonia missionaries to open a school, but on condition that the missionaries would give him gifts.⁷⁵ Consequently, Mpherembe’s area became part of the Ekwendeni congregation. This was followed by the establishment of a school at Enkondhwleni (meaning tabernacle in isingoni) in 1897, where Inkosi Mpherembe himself enrolled, but eventually gave up because sometimes the alphabet used to twinkle in his eyes like stars due to his being intoxicated with beer.⁷⁶ Later on, several schools such as Emcisweni (in Malidade’s area), Ekweleni, Thundubike and Mayura were opened by 1919.⁷⁷ These schools served two purposes: as centres of education and as agencies of Christianisation. This made the Ngoni use such words as ‘school’ and ‘church’ interchangeably, calling a church a school or vice versa.

The first church minister to be sent to Mpherembe’s area was Peter Zimema Thole, who arrived in October 1928 and served both Njuyu and Emcisweni Congregations, with the main station at Njuyu, until about 1936.⁷⁸ Peter Thole had a passion for isingoni, as all his sermons were in that language.⁷⁹ Some of Mpherembe’s sons, such as Chinombo, were sent to mission schools during that period.⁸⁰ Even his grandson, Pickford, who became Mpherembe II in 1942, was a product of Livingstonia mission education, but was never detached completely from Ngoni cultural traditions. This earned him the wrath among the District Residents at Mzimba Boma, who often referred to him as a pagan fellow but trained by the Scotch Mission at Ekwendeni.⁸¹

Linguistically, missionaries at Ekwendeni had an ambivalent attitude towards the Ngoni language despite the preference in the initial stage of their work. The fortunes of the language thus fluctuated greatly as time elapsed. For example, the Ngoni language was used in sessions at Ekwendeni Congregation until September 1907, when Reverend Walter Elmslie became the moderator, while David Mumba, who succeeded Daniel Gondwe, became Umbali (the Session Clerk) and began documenting session proceedings in chitumbuka. However, from 03 September 1908 to 09 February 1911, the Ngoni language was revived in the minutes of the sessions when the moderator was Reverend Charles Stuart, who succeeded Reverend R. D. McMinn, and his session clerk was Peter Z. Thole.⁸² As time went by, it was found that some missionaries, such as Elmslie, preferred chitumbuka, whereas others, like McMinn and Stuart, enjoyed isingoni and hence took advantage of Elmslie’s furlough to replace chitumbuka with isingoni in the sessions.⁸³ However, because missionaries like Elmslie were the most experienced and influential in Ngoniland, they began undermining the integrity of isingoni. They eventually abandoned isingoni as a medium of preaching and began to speak and teach in chitumbuka. As a result, the Livingstonia missionaries began writing or translating existing literature in chitumbuka. For instance, the New Testament was translated into chitumbuka, whereas both Dr. Steele (a missionary doctor at Ekwendeni) and Dr. Laws each wrote a comprehensive Tumbuka dictionary.⁸⁴ Later, in 1908, Dr. Innes translated St. Luke’s gospel into chitumbuka.⁸⁵ This made chitumbuka gradually replace the Ngoni language.

The people of Mpherembe also had limited contact with the missionaries at Ekwendeni, which enabled them to maintain their isingoni language policy. These limited contacts were through evangelistic meetings, usually held on weekends.⁸⁶ Even minutes of the Ekwendeni Session dealt with areas such as Euthini, Edundu, Choma, Ekwaiweni, Engcongolweni and Matuli. Stillmore, by 1919, Njuyu mission station, which the Mpherembe area, was already closed. This is corroborated by the Mzimba District Resident’s report to the Chief Secretary in Zomba, which said⁸⁷: The Ngoni Mission had four main centres: Ekwendeni and Loudon, which had dwelling houses, schools and brick churches, and Hora and Njuyu looked abandoned, containing hill houses of a cheap character for the use by Missionaries on holiday in the hot months.

The only time the Livingstonia missionaries could have had a considerable impact on the Ngoni of Mpherembe was when Chinombo, a son of Mpherembe but a dedicated Christian, became the regent to Pickford in 1914. However, his power and influence were short-lived, as he died in 1921.⁸⁸ That was probably a blow because from then onwards, came leaders like Esau Jere and then later on Pickford, who looked rebellious towards the ethics of the Livingstonia missionaries despite being educated at Ekwendeni Mission. The above relations between Mpherembe Ngoni and the Livingstonia missionaries were also manifested in colonial rule.

Being part of the main M’mbelwa group, the Mpherembe Ngoni were also affected by the arrival of British colonialism in their area. British colonial rule was delayed among the M’mbelwa Ngoni because the Livingstonia missionaries spoke highly of the Ngoni’s ability to manage their own affairs. Additionally, the British colonial government feared that using force, as they did with the Yao and the Maseko Ngoni in southern Malawi, could harm good missionary work among the Ngoni. As a result, from 1891 to 1904, while many parts of Malawi were subjected to colonial rule, the M’mbelwa Ngoni were left untouched. The first British colonial administrator, Sir Harry Johnston, assured the Ngoni that their territory would not be annexed or taxed, as long as they stayed within the area between the South Rukulu to the north and Hora Mountain to the south, and did not raid or bother the people outside their territory.⁷⁹

Nonetheless, the above promises did not last long as Ngoniland began experiencing some political and environmental challenges, which facilitated the colonial interventions. Among the challenges was the influx of European traders and fortune-hunters, which led to the breakdown of law and order in Ngoniland. For example, in January 1899, a European employee of the North Charterland Exploration Company in Northern Rhodesia, William Robert Ziehl, entered Ngoniland to buy cattle. While plying his business, Ziehl clashed with some African Livingstonia mission teachers, which led to the death of two men and the wounding of an old woman. The Livingstonia missionaries reported the incident to the British colonial government in the West Nyasa (Nkhata Bay) district to try Ziehl. Ziehl was found guilty and fined, which impressed the Ngoni and became one of the reasons for their eventual acceptance of colonial rule. Before the Ziehl case, there was also the outbreak of Rinderpest disease in 1893, which swept through cattle, the economic base of the Ngoni.⁸⁹ Then, later, Ngoniland was affected by overpopulation and a falling water table. As if that was not enough, in 1903, there was a famine in Ngoniland, which forced many Ngoni out of their heartland into the surrounding countryside. For instance, Chief Chimtunga (who ascended to the throne in 1898 following the death of his father, M’mbelwa in 1891) moved his villages some 40 miles from Hora, whereas Chief Mzukuzuku went to Embangweni, and Maurau moved southwards and settled just north of the Dwangwa River.⁹⁰

Furthermore, by October 1903, the colonial government was already eyeing the annexation of Ngoniland for hut tax collection to fund its administration. Subsequently, this idea was facilitated by Dr. Laws, who wrote to Alfred Sharpe (the successor of Sir Harry Johnston in 1896 as the administrator of the Protectorate) on 07 December 1903 about the government takeover in Ngoniland. This was after an incident at Ekwendeni where the African Lakes Corporation store caught fire, which spread to the Mission’s stores department and dispensary. The suspected arsonists fled to the lakeshore, taking their cattle in November 1903, but some Ngoni leaders at Ekwendeni pursued them to punish them. Therefore, Laws wrote to Sharpe for fear of brewing a small war if things were not carefully managed. As if this was not enough, during the early part of 1904, native police from Chinthechi (Nkhata-Bay) entered Ngoniland and began collecting hut taxes and burning villages.⁹¹

The above pressures prompted the colonial administration, with the help of the Livingstonia missionaries, to act by annexing the area. The M’mbelwa Ngoni, led by Chimtunga Jere (a son of M’mbelwa I), came under the British protectorate rule on 24 October 1904, following a meeting between the then Governor Sir Alfred Sharpe and Ngoni leaders at Ekwendeni in Mzimba District in September 1904. At this meeting, the eight Ngoni chiefs agreed to submit to the British administration in return for certain privileges, including the right to spread out over the Tumbuka area.⁹² Sharpe and the Ngoni agreed that the authority of the hereditary chiefs would be upheld, and the chiefs would decide minor disputes among their people and would assist colonial government officials in administration and tax collection. Additionally, a District Resident would be sent to Ngoniland. At this meeting, Mpherembe was the only son of Zwangendaba who witnessed the Ngoni coming under colonial rule, as most of his kinsmen were already dead.⁹³ Indeed, on 24 October 1904, a Boma (a word initially meaning a fortified position but later on meant any government station)⁹⁴ was created at Hora, where Mr. Hector MacDonald (UMadondolo-a corrupted word by the Ngoni) became the first British resident.⁹⁵ In April 1905, the Boma moved to its present location due to water problems at Hora and was named Mzimba after the river, which originally means the human body in the Ngoni language.⁹⁶

The political relations between the Ngoni and the colonial administrators, especially after 1933, generally proved beneficial to the Ngoni. This was because indirect rule gave the local authorities considerable powers.⁹⁷ This made the colonial government treat the Ngoni as an entity with one leader at a time; hence, there was little colonial interference in Mpherembe’s area on an individual basis. The only occasion when the colonial government tried to interfere in the affairs of Mpherembe’s chiefdom was in 1932 when they came to settle a dispute between Pickford, the title holder of Mpherembe II, and his uncle and regent, Esau Jere, as seen above.⁹⁸ Even after settling this dispute, the colonial government was not on good terms with Pickford. This is evident from remarks made by several district officials at Mzimba in their annual reports. They often depicted him as ‘a big and rather stupid fellow and not very intelligent’.⁹⁹ In short, the colonial government was never in complete control of Mpherembe area because of its concept of indirect rule, in addition to the belief in the viability of a centralised Ngoni administrative system under paramount chief M’Mbelwa. This trend continued until Malawi gained independence in 1964.

Most authors on Ngoni history, in general, have overlooked the need to focus on specific sections within the Ngoni society to gain a broader understanding of the Ngoni picture. This study provides an insight into how the Mpherembe Ngoni aristocrats managed to retain the Ngoni language amid pressure from various sectors. Thus, it brings another dimension and calls for a holistic approach to understanding the cultural complexities of a given society. The study finds that the resilience of the Ngoni language among Mpherembe Ngoni was because they were the latest and final Ngoni group to settle in Northern Malawi among the predominantly Tumbuka speakers. As the new Ngoni settlers, they were alarmed by the extent of the cultural erosion that had taken place among their earlier M’mbelwa Ngoni kinsmen. This made Mpherembe Ngoni more assertive than other Ngoni groups about their identity when dealing with surrounding Tumbuka communities. A consolidating factor in the growth of Ngoni consciousness in Mpherembe’s area was the wrangle that developed with time over the custodianship of Emqiseni, the main Ngoni funeral rite centre established by Zwangendaba. The competition compelled each group to promote its unique Ngoni culture to the best of its ability to outshine the other.

The study also observes that even the Livingstonia missionaries did not make a full impact in Mpherembe’s area. Furthermore, the colonial administrative concept of indirect rule aided the Mpherembe Ngoni to consolidate their linguistic identity, especially as the central government focused more on the paramountcy of M’mbelwa than on his subordinate chiefs. Finally, it is established that belief in the viability of a centralised Ngoni administrative system in the period under study gave the Ngoni of Mpherembe an added advantage, as there was implicit decentralisation among the M’mbelwa Ngoni. Therefore, it can be concluded that the Ngoni language survived in Inkosi Mpherembe’s area because of the cultural consciousness of the Ngoni patriarchy. Hence, this study makes a significant contribution to the growing historical understanding of the cultural complexities, dynamisms and adaptations within the M’mbelwa Ngoni groups, using the case of the Mpherembe Ngoni. Despite the contributions, the study may not have exhausted its findings. By relying heavily on oral testimonies and archival records, it risks privileging the Ngoni aristocracy and overlooking other voices. In this respect, future researchers should explore such issues.