MAKEWANA, LUNDU, UNDI, SOSOLA AND CHEWA SUCCESSION

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Makewana was not involved in the selection of the earliest Kalongas a thousand years ago (Ntara, 1973). In fact, there was no Makewana institution when the first Kalonga, Mazizi, was chosen at Choma in present-day Mzimba (Phiri, 1975). One of the reasons historians must dig deeply into the past, sometimes hundreds of years into the past, is to understand how institutions originally functioned in their most harmonious and balanced form before later changes, complexities, and conflicts emerged (Vansina, 1985).

When a Kalonga died, succession was neither simple nor automatic. The identity of the next Kalonga was not predetermined, nor was it guaranteed by birth alone. There was no certainty about who would become the next ruler, because succession required careful deliberation, consultation, and acceptance by those who held authority within the kingdom (Langworthy, 1972).

The selection of a new Kalonga was therefore a matter of great political significance, involving negotiation and consensus rather than an automatic transfer of power (Schoffeleers, 1987).

The first Kalonga was the son of Nyangu Phiri (the Queen Mother and central figure of the Phiri lineage). All Kalongas had to be either the children of Nyangu (the Queen Mother) or the children of Nyangu’s daughters, who were also named Nyangu, and who were the sisters of the Kalonga (Marwick, 1965).

All Kalongas belonged to the Phiri clan, but their council belonged to the Banda clan (Phiri, 2004). The Banda were the ministers of God who ensured that the Kalonga’s rule was legitimate before Chauta [the Supreme Creator] (Schoffeleers, 1992). The Banda were also the ones who kept the royal flame of Malawi, which they brought with them from Uluba (Ntara, 1973). This arrangement was established to create a balance of power. Every Kalonga married a woman from the Banda clan family who was the daughter of Mangadzi. The Kalonga’s wife was called Mwali (Hamilton, 1955).

When the Chewa arrived at Kaphirimtiwa, one of the Banda women named Mangadzi, who was a mother-in-law to the Kalonga, was possessed by the spirit of Chauta and began to prophesy (Schoffeleers, 1973). She became the very first Makewana. Over time, Makewana’s power grew, and she became the earthly representative of God. She was also referred to as the wife of Chauta (Linden, 1979). From that time onward, she was forbidden to marry, and all subsequent Makewanas who succeeded her were likewise forbidden from marrying (Metcalfe, 1954).

Makewana lived with assistant women or girls called the Matsano, who were also forbidden to marry (Rangeley, 1952). Makewana’s earthly husband was represented by Thunga (the mythical python), who acted as a husband figure but not within a conventional family structure (Schoffeleers, 1979). Makewana maintained her own security guards and her own priesthood (Linden, 1979).

At one point, the Kalonga attempted to seize Makewana’s power to consolidate both political and religious authority under himself (Phiri, 1983). However, this failed because Makewana possessed immense spiritual power bestowed by Chauta; fighting Makewana meant fighting Chauta, which would bring disasters upon the kingdom (Schoffeleers, 1992).

Over time, because Makewana was close to Chauta and held direct communication with the ancestors, it became necessary for her to distance herself from the Kalongas (Rangeley, 1952). Consequently, when a Kalonga died, multiple consultations took place, beginning with the Banda elders, the Kalonga’s mother (Nyangu), and Makewana alongside her priesthood (Langworthy, 1972). As time went on, whenever a Kalonga died, there were two additional high-ranking rulers whose approval was required: Lundu to the South and Undi to the East (Alpers, 1975).

The kingdoms of Lundu and Undi were ancient realms and were the only ones that remained free from external contamination (Newitt, 1982). Lundu, alongside his maternal uncle Kaphwiti, broke away from the main Maravi group during the early years at Kaphirimtiwa in the 1400s (Schoffeleers, 1987). He departed with a large population, and all the Mang’anja people of the southern region are their descendants (Northrup, 1978). The Lundu kingdom grew so powerful that it occasionally went to war with the Kalonga; however, even after those conflicts ended, Lundu maintained a highly powerful kingdom (Newitt, 1995). In critical matters, the Kalonga still consulted Lundu, particularly because Lundu possessed the power to communicate with Chauta through the medium of M’bona (Schoffeleers, 1992).

Undi was the elder brother of the Kalonga, and due to certain disagreements, he broke away while the Maravi were stationed at Mankhamba and headed toward modern-day Zambia (Langworthy, 1972). However, because Undi was the elder brother, and because he took the Queen Mother Nyangu with him during his departure, who held the senior authority to choose kings, he also took several of the Kalonga’s brothers (Phiri, 2004).

Knowing that Makewana might continue to face harassment from the Kalonga, Lundu, while departing for Zambia, stationed a protector named Chinsera to guard her like a soldier (Rangeley, 1952). By the time the last Chinsera died, Makewana had established her control over succession to this position. She directed that a man named Kalikwikwiti succeed Chinsera and changed his name to Chadza because he had arrived at Nsinja. Therefore, the person who protected Makewana at Kaphirimtiwa, before the shrine descended from the mountain to settle at Nsinja, was Chadza (Schoffeleers, 1973).

When a Kalonga died, Undi had to be notified and was required to assist in the selection process. This was especially because he lived with the Queen Mother, Nyangu, and maintained a good relationship with Makewana, who was his mother-in-law (Langworthy, 1972).

It is important to note that there is a significant age and generational gap between the final Kalongas (Sosola) and the eras of Undi and Lundu. More than 400 years passed between the time Undi and Lundu originally broke away and the time the last Kalonga died at Mankhamba (Newitt, 1995). Many people confuse this point, thinking that these historical events occurred simultaneously (Phiri, 1983).

Therefore, for a Chewa king to be fully legitimized, he had to originate from the Phiri clan, marry Mwali as his first wife, be approved by Nyangu (the mother of the nation), be chosen by Chauta through the Banda elders and Makewana, and be officially endorsed by senior rulers such as Lundu and Undi (Schoffeleers, 1992).

Ascending to the position of Kalonga was never automatic. It was entirely possible to select the last-born son over the first-born son based on deep evaluations of character and wisdom. Thus, succession was not merely a matter of royal blood; it deeply involved Chauta, the community, personal conduct, and other critical virtues (Langworthy, 1972).

A Kalonga did not always have to be an existing chief prior to selection; the council could choose an individual who did not even own a village, provided he belonged to the royal family lineage (Ntara, 1973).

References

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2. Hamilton, R. A. (1955). The oral tradition of the Central African Kingdom of Maravi. The Journal of African History, 14(2), 191–203.
3. Langworthy, H. W. (1972). Zambia before 1890: Aspects of pre-colonial history. Longman.
4. Linden, I. (1979). Chisumphi theology in the religion of Central Malawi. In J. M. Schoffeleers (Ed.), Guardians of the land: Essays on Central African territorial cults (pp. 187–207). Mambo Press.
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14. Rangeley, W. H. J. (1952). Makewana—The mother of all people. The Nyasaland Journal, 5(2), 31–50.
15. Schoffeleers, J. M. (1973). The history and political role of the M’bona cult among the Mang’anja. In T. O. Ranger & I. N. Kimambo (Eds.), The historical study of African religion (pp. 73–94). Heinemann.
16. Schoffeleers, J. M. (1979). Guardians of the land: Essays on Central African territorial cults. Mambo Press.
17. Schoffeleers, J. M. (1987). The Zimba and the Lundu state in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The Journal of African History, 28(3), 337–355.
18. Schoffeleers, J. M. (1992). River of blood: The Genesis of a martyr cult in Southern Malawi, c. A.D. 1600. University of Wisconsin Press.
19. Vansina, J. (1985). Oral tradition as history. University of Wisconsin Press.

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Written by

Shadreck Chikoti

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