The Mulanje Massif, also known as Mount Mulanje, is a large
inselberg
An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain.
In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...
in southern
Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
. Sapitwa Peak, the highest point on the massif at 3,002 m, is the highest point in Malawi. It lies 65 km east of
Blantyre
Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...
,
rising sharply from the surrounding plains of Phalombe and the Mulanje district.
Geography
Much of the Massif consists of rolling grassland at elevations of 1800–2200 m, intersected by deep forested ravines. It has many individual peaks reaching heights of over 2500 m, including
Chambe Peak, the West Face of which is the longest
rock climb in Africa.
The Massif was formed by the intrusion of
magma
Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...
into the Earth's crust about 130 million years ago. The surrounding rock eroded away over time, leaving behind the erosion-resistant
igneous
Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ''ignis'' meaning fire), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or ...
rock of the Mulanje Massif. The first European to report seeing the Massif was
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
in 1859, but archeological investigation reveals evidence of human visits to the Massif from the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...
onwards. The elevation of the mountain is high enough for it to disturb upper level air flow and induce rain clouds to form around it, making it an important source of rain water at the head of almost every river that runs through this part of Malawi.
The forested slopes of the Massif support a sizeable
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
industry. At one time there was a cableway to transport timber from the edge of the plateau down to the Likhubula Forestry Station but it fell into disrepair and currently planks are carried down manually.
The mountain itself is part of the protected
Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve
Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve is a nature reserve founded in 1927 in Malawi. The reserve covers 56,317 hectares.
It is operated by the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust. The reserve was designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 2000.
Geogra ...
. The native
Mulanje cypress
''Widdringtonia whytei'', the Mulanje cedar or Mulanje cypress, is a species of conifer native to Malawi, where it is endemism, endemic to the Mulanje Massif at altitudes of 1,830–2,550 m. It has become endangered as a result of over-harvesti ...
(''Widdringtonia whytei'') has been so heavily logged that it is considered endangered and the park contains the last remaining stands of this tree, as well as a number of other plant and animal species—many of them endemic to the area. Examples include forest butterflies, birds such as the
cholo alethe and
white-winged apalis
The white-winged apalis (''Apalis chariessa'') is a species of bird in the family Cisticolidae.
It is found in Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania.
Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest and subtropical or trop ...
, a dwarf chameleon,
gecko
Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from .
Geckos ar ...
s,
skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Ski ...
s, the squeaker frog, and a rare limbless burrowing skink species. The land around the park is threatened by growing population, land use patterns such as forest clearing for farming and firewood, and invasive species such as
golden Himalayan raspberry ''(Rubus ellipticus)'' and
Mexican weeping pine ''(Pinus patula)''.
The Massif is popular for hiking and climbing, and has several mountain huts scattered across it which are maintained by the Malawi Mountain Club and the Malawi Forestry Department. Sapitwa peak was first climbed in 1894, and is now the most popular climb on the plateau.
In 2014 the site was unsuccessfully nominated for World Heritage Status.
The human history of the Mulanje Area
According to
Chewa
Chewa may refer to:
*the Chewa people
*the Chewa language
Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambiq ...
legend, the people living in Malawi before their arrival were the Akafula.
Although yet to be found on Mulanje,
rock art
In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...
has been discovered on the nearby hills at Machemba and Mikolongwe. Recent work by the
Catholic University has unearthed tool-making sites along the Thuchila shelf dating back to the
Middle Stone Age, some 100,000 years ago.
The main
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
immigration
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
came from the
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin (french: Bassin du Congo) is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The Congo Basin region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It con ...
in the 1600s, with the
Mang'anja
The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of central and southern Africa, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked co ...
people settling in a number of sites around the Mulanje Area. These were peaceful people who built a livelihood from the soil and local
natural resources
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. ...
. There was contact with the outside world through the coastal
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
and
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
, and
Yao traders who brought in goods to exchange for
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
and
slaves.
The peacefulness came to an end with the
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
of Yao people from the north-east towards the south shore of
Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is the fifth largest fr ...
(then Lake Nyasa) and highland areas of Malawi in the 1800s, escaping from their own internal
tribal
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
strife. With the strong coastal demand,
slave raiding
Slave raiding is a military raid for the purpose of capturing people and bringing them from the raid area to serve as slaves. Once seen as a normal part of warfare, it is nowadays widely considered a crime. Slave raiding has occurred since an ...
into the Mang'anja villages sharply increased and the settlements were often scattered. This situation was noted by
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
when he travelled into this area in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Livingstone's call for help in ending the
slave trade
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
brought
Scottish missionaries and
settlers
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer.
Settle ...
into the area who established themselves by setting up a mission on the slopes of the mountain and in
estate agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
, respectively. Despite attempts at developing an
amicable
Amicable numbers are two different natural numbers related in such a way that the sum of the proper divisors of each is equal to the other number. That is, σ(''a'')=''b'' and σ(''b'')=''a'', where σ(''n'') is equal to the sum of positive di ...
relationship, conflict with the Yao increased and this soon led to violence. By the 1890s, the British had seen the need to establish a
protectorate
A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over m ...
and they set up a
military administration
Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outsid ...
at the north of the mountain at Fort Lister and to the south at Fort Anderson. The staffing of these forts with
Indian soldiers started Malawi's now longstanding links with the
Indian sub-continent.
From this time, there were also inward migrations of the
Lomwe people
The Lomwe people are one of the largest tribes residing in Mozambique and Malawi. In Mozambique their language is spoken by many in central Mozambique. In Malawi
Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Ma ...
from the Portuguese east, escaping both colonial and Yao strife, who largely settled among the European estates and the
Catholic missions
Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...
. This immigration has continued to recent times during the
Mozambican independence and
civil wars
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
.
Today, these three
tribal culture
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to conflic ...
s continue to live around the Mountain in one of the highest
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
population densities
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. Although there is territorial distinction through their tribal traditional authorities, there is a widespread intermixing of the peoples.
European
settlement
Settlement may refer to:
*Human settlement, a community where people live
*Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building
* Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction
*Settlement (fin ...
flourished to develop the extensive
tea estates that represent the first significant cultivation of this
crop
A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...
outside its countries of origin. The missions also continue to expand their services in education and primary health care.
[
]
Climate
The climate
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologic ...
of the larger Mulanje
Mulanje, formerly called Mlanje, is a town in the Southern Region of Malawi, close to the border with Mozambique, to the east. It is near the Mulanje Massif.
Location
The town of Mulanje lies along the M-2 highway from Thyolo to the west to t ...
area is strongly influenced by the equatorial low pressure area, where the north-east trades of the Northern Hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
converge with the south-east trades of the Southern Hemisphere. This area is known as the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). On satellite Images the ITCZ
The Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ ), known by sailors as the doldrums or the calms because of its monotonous windless weather, is the area where the northeast and the southeast trade winds converge. It encircles Earth near the thermal ...
is mostly seen as a long band of clouds
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may com ...
in the Equatorial region, the main effect of the ITCZ is the creation of dry and rainy seasons in the Equatorial area.
The Mulanje Massif, because its unique position as a “mountain island” rising more than 2,500 metres above the surrounding plains, is strongly affected by the ITCZ, acting as a rain barrier. This becomes very visible when comparing the annual normal rainfalls, on and around the massif. The plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...
level, at around 2,000 metres above sea level, annually experiences more than 2500 mm (100 inches) of rain, however, in the low plains around the foot of the Massif, the annual rainfalls range around 40 inches. In the plains around the Mountain it normally only rains in the rainy season, while it rains year round on the plateau level.
There are still differences in the amounts of rain around the Massif. The south-west face of the mountain around Likhubula, Lichenya and Mulanje Boma is the windward side. This experiences the highest amounts of rain due to the south-east trades of the southern hemisphere that drive the moist air from Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
into the Mulanje region. The north-west face of the Massif experiences lesser rains, due to a rain-shadow effect.
The months of the dry season (May–August) are the coolest months of the year and most suitable for hiking in the massif. The wet season (November–April) is not recommended for hiking in the Massif, as the hiker faces heavy rains on the plateau and high temperatures during the ascent.
Snow is a very rare event. Brief snowfalls are possible but the last major snowfall with ground accumulation was in June 1954.
The Mulanje cedar
The Mulanje cedar (''Widdringtonia whytei
''Widdringtonia whytei'', the Mulanje cedar or Mulanje cypress, is a species of conifer native to Malawi, where it is endemic to the Mulanje Massif at altitudes of 1,830–2,550 m. It has become endangered as a result of over-harvesting for its ...
'') was proclaimed the National Tree of Malawi in 1984 by the late president Hastings Banda
Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898 – 25 November 1997) was the prime minister and later president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994 (from 1964 to 1966, Malawi was an independent Dominion / Commonwealth realm).
In 1966, the country became a republic and ...
. This tall tree, ''W. whytei'', was named after Alexander Whyte, a colonial government botanist in Nyasaland. The species was first described in 1894 and it is only found on Mount Mulanje (and Mchese Mountain, depending on if that population is considered conspecific). Scientists disagree about whether this is a distinct species or a giant form of the other cedar found on the mountain, ''W. nodiflora'', which is common across Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...
. The cedar forests on Mulanje were estimated in 2004 to have been reduced to a total area of 8.5 km2, half of the estimated original forest cover. This area may have been diminished as a result of continued illegal cutting.
''W. whytei'' is a large evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
tree, growing up to 40–50 m tall, whereas ''W. nodiflora'' is more rounded, with a lower canopy height. On the mountain, the Mulanje cedar is limited to altitudes between 1,800-2,550 m and is normally confined to hollows and valleys where there is some protection from fire.
Cedar timber is pale red, straight grained and pleasantly fragrant. Its major qualities are that it is worked easily and is extremely durable, being naturally resistant to attacks from termites, wood-boring insects and fungi. The sap is poisonous to insects. For these reasons, the timber achieved commercial significance from the 1940s onward, as described by Laurens van der Post in his book ''Venture to the Interior'', becoming a principal resource for building and woodworking. As of 2010 the timber is most used in the making of local arts and crafts, fishing boats for Lake Malawi, and in the construction and decoration of many prestigious buildings.
As the demand for its timber is high, the tree is under threat of extinction. Mulanje cedar is a pioneer species
Pioneer species are hardy species that are the first to colonize barren environments or previously biodiverse steady-state ecosystems that have been disrupted, such as by wildfire.
Pioneer flora
Some lichens grow on rocks without soil, so ...
, not a climax species
Climax species, also called late seral, late-successional, K-selected or equilibrium species, are plant species that can germinate and grow with limited resources; e.g., they need heat exposure or low water availability. They are the species wi ...
, meaning that it is good at taking advantage of sites that become free of other competing species but it is less successful in open competition. When fire destroys the trees in an area of woodland, Mulanje cedar will normally be the first tree species to re-establish itself. Other species will come in later, but because the cedar is relatively fast growing, it will not face much competition for sunlight.
The Malawi Department of Forestry is responsible for protecting the cedar forests from damaging fires. Each year, at the beginning of the dry season, firebreak
A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...
s are cleared of vegetation to provide barriers that will impede the advance of wildfires. In addition, controlled early burning is carried out to reduce the build-up of combustible material that might cause intense and damaging fires later in the dry season. For further safety, gangs equipped with fire-fighting equipment are stationed on each of the main plateau areas whenever there is a fire hazard.
As well as providing protection from fires, the Department of Forestry is responsible for controlling the use of the trees for timber. In the past the department issued annual sawing licences but, due to a sharp increase in illegal harvesting, the sawing season has been closed since 2007. However, the illegal market for cedar is strong and cedar harvesting has not yet been stopped. All cedar wood sawn after 2007 is illegal wood, and can be confiscated by the Department of Forestry and the Malawi Police. In 2010 there was a significant increase in law-enforcement action involving armed forestry teams patrolling the cedar forests to stop the illegal pit sawyers.
There has also been a substantial planting programme to reforest
Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting.
Management
A debate ...
Mulanje cedar seedlings in the plastic-covered greenhouses that can be seen across the mountain. In the 2008/09 rainy season, nurseries were established on the mountain to raise over 50,000 seedlings that were then planted out with an estimated survival rate of over 30%. In the 2009/10 season, nursery plans were to raise more than 20,000 seedlings, with an improved planting-out strategy to ensure an even higher success rate.
Conservation of the cedars is not secure. In 2010 the Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust
The Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust (MMCT) is a conservation trust in Malawi.
The trust focuses on the Mulanje Mountain Forest Reserve.
The Mulanje Mountain Conservation Trust was established in 2000 as a non-governmental organization and bec ...
(MMCT) claimed the species would probably be extinct by 2020.[ Mulanje cedar was first assessed as ']endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
' in 1997, and again in 1998, by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
(IUCN). It was re-assessed as ' critically endangered' by the IUCN in 2011, wherein the assessor, Aljos Farjon
Aljos Farjon (born 1946) is a Dutch botanist specialized in conifers.
After studying at Utrecht University he worked at Kew Gardens. He is a fellow of the Linnean Society of London
The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicate ...
, based on the 2004 data, stated that the species would experience a population reduction of 80% by 2030. In 2019 it was again assessed as 'critically endangered', with the authors claiming that there were fewer than 50 mature trees left, and blaming this on foreign export. They make this claim based on the area being near the border, what they claim is bad policing by Malawi, and their claim that the wood is not used or sold in Malawi. Despite these assertions, the Malawi government and partners such as the MMCT have planted some 250,000 seedlings each year for the past few years as of 2019 (see previous paragraph). In addition to the risk of losing this tree, there is also the potential loss of the other endemic plant and animal species that inhabit these unique forests.[
]
References
*
{{Major African geological formations
Afromontane
Highest points of countries
Inselbergs of Africa
Mountains of Malawi
South Malawi montane forest–grassland mosaic
Important Bird Areas of Malawi