Ngoni people
A picture of Ngoni girls at Livingstonia, Nyasaland | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
| Malawi, Zambia | |
| Languages | |
| Ngoni dialect of Zulu, Chewa, Tumbuka, Nsenga, English | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity, African Traditional Religion, Sangoma, Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nguni (especially Zulu) |
The Ngoni people are a hybrid ethnic group of mixed Nguni with indigenous Tumbuka and Chewa people living in parts of the present-day Mzimba (formerly Kathibi) and Ntcheu District in Malawi, and Chipata in Eastern Zambia. The Ngoni trace their origins to the Nguni people of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The Ngonis during their journey from South Africa were all males as they did not bring their wives along with them. The displacement of the Nguni people in the great scattering following the Zulu wars had repercussions in social reorganization as far north as Malawi and Zambia.