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Encyclopedia Britannica

Chewa


People
Alternate title: Cewa

Chewa, Bantu-speaking people living in the extreme eastern zone of Zambia, northwestern Zimbabwe, Malaŵi, and Mozambique. They share many cultural features with their Bemba kinsmen to the west. Their language, Chewa, is also called Chichewa, Nyanja, or Chinyanja and is important in Malaŵi.

The economy rests primarily on swidden (slash-and-burn) agriculture, major crops being corn (maize) and sorghum. Considerable hunting and fishing are done.

Descent, inheritance, and succession are matrilineal. Polygyny is general. The Chewa occupy compact villages, which are commonly stockaded. Each settlement has a hereditary headman and an advisory council of elders. See also Maravi.

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