Tumbuka people

The Tumbuka, also called Tumboka, Kamanga, Batumbuka, Matumbuka or Henga people, is an ethnic group found in Northern Malawi, Eastern Zambia and Southern Tanzania. Historically, the Tumbuka people are classified as a part of the Bantu culture, and with origins in a geographic region between the Dwangwa River to the south, the North Rukuru River to the north, Lake Malawi to the east, and the Luangwa River. They are found in the valleys near the rivers, lake as well as the highlands of Nyika Plateau.

The Tambuka people were a victim of wars from the Ngoni tribe of South Africa, of socio-politics behind the ivory trade, followed by slave trade market controlled by the Arabs. The Tambuka have had a subsistence farming culture, with men in the families seeking migrant work. In contemporary times, they are mostly Christians who also continue to practice elements of their traditional beliefs such as Vimbuza.

Various estimates suggest that over two million Tumbuka speakers live in north Malawi, northeast Zambia and Tanzania.

Ethnologue estimates a total of 1,546,000 Tumbuka speakers. However, Ember et al. estimate that about an additional million Tumbuka people live in central and southern African countries such as Tanzania because of the diffusion of Tumbuka people as migrant labor.

Tumbuka language, also called chiTumbuka, is a Bantu language, similar to Swahili in structure and vocabulary. It is classified as a central Bantu language in the Niger-Congo family. The Tumbuka language has many dialects. A Tumbuka calls a fellow tribe member as wa-tumbuka, meaning one of the tribe of Tumbukas.

In the 18th century the Chikulamayembe Dynasty led the Tumbuka people. This region attracted the attention of Arab traders in the 18th-century, followed by colonial era ivory traders, given its large elephants herds. In the 1840s, Swahili Arabs entered northern Malawi region, with Jumbe Salim bin Abdallah establishing Nkhotakota trading center near Lake Malawi. Jumbe Abdallah's trade in slaves to satisfy the Zanzibar Arab center and the Middle East demand triggered raids and violence against the Tumbuka people. A male slave was known as muzga or kapolo, while a chituntulu meant a young female slave.

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