Recent Gathering Brings Tribes Together

From Kingdom to Protectorate and Beyond

  A recent gathering in northern Malawi brought together all of the Paramount Chiefs of all of the major tribes in the country, as well as the current President of Malawi for the first time in history. The Angoni were dressed in tribal traditional wear, and it was the largest gathering in the past 100 years. The occasion was to celebrate the time 100 years ago when the Mzimba Kingdom signed a peace treaty with England and became part of the "East African Protectorate" later to be Nyasaland then under independence Malawi. The signing of the treaty was partly responsible for keeping Germany from cutting off the British during World War I. The ceremony was deemed "From Kingdom to Protectorate and Beyond." The big meeting took place about 66 miles back in the bush country away from the main road at the ancestral home of the Angoni people at Hora Mountain in northern Malawi.

Chief Asks that Bill Be Paid

    During the ceremony Chief Mimbelwa II reminded the government of the fact that in 1902 the British were unable to pay their workers. The Chief loaned them the money to make payroll but the British have yet to pay the money back to them. He requested the funds be returned to them with interest. The President of Malawi advised them he would pass their request on to the British authorities.

Celebrating the Old and the New

    According to Randy Judd, an American missionary who attended the celebration and did the photography for this story, "The celebration was a contrast between the old Malawi and the new. The Angoni chiefs and their "Inkosi ya Makosi" were dressed in skins along with all the male dancers. The president was dressed in a business suit. The big chief was sheltered in a small grass house until the festivities started, President Bingu was at a near by school. The chief came to the parade stand on foot being surrounded by about 400 men and women in traditional dress. The president came in a motorcade and had about 500 men and women in tee shirts; he also had about 10 guys carrying pictures of him. The chiefs came the night before in order to be on time; while the president came by helicopter to avoid the bad road."