Macua (people)
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The Makua people, also known as Makhuwa, are a
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 ...
ethnic group found in northern Mozambique and the southern border provinces of Tanzania such as the Mtwara Region. They are the largest ethnic group in
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
, and primarily concentrated in a large region to the north of the Zambezi River. They are studied by sociologists in four geographical and linguistic sub-divisions: the lower or Lolo Makua, the upper or Lomwe Makua, the Maua and the Niassa Makua or Medo. They speak variants of the ''Makua'' language, also called ''Emakua'', and this is a Bantu-group language. The total Makua population is estimated to be about 3.5 million of which over 1 million speak the lower (southern) dialect and about 2 million the upper (northern, Lomwe) version; given the large region and population, several ethnic groups that share the region with the Makua people also speak the ''Emakua''.


History

A mythical legend, in the oral tradition of the Makua people, tells that their ancestor were the first man and woman born of Namuli which is their original home, while other living creatures came from nearby mountains. Scholars are uncertain whether their origins are in the mountains, or west of Lake Malawi, or northern lands such as in Tanzania or the south. However they concur that they likely have been an established ethnic group in northern Mozambique region by the 1st millennium CE. The Makua people are closely related to the Animist
Maravi Maravi was a kingdom which straddled the current borders of Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia, in the 16th century. The present-day name " Maláŵi" is said to derive from the Chewa word "malaŵí", which means "flames". History At its greatest ex ...
people. They have had a history of conflict with the Muslim Yao people in the north involved in slave raids and slave trading.


Metals, manufacturing and trade

The Makua people have a documented history of metal ore processing and tools manufacturing. The colonial era Portuguese naturalist, Manuel Galvao da Silva for example, described iron mines of the Makua people. Similarly, the French explorer Eugene de Froberville summarized the indigenous Makua iron manufacturing methods from iron ore, where the Makua people extracted the metal by processing the ore in a wood-burning
hearth A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a lo ...
as a community. The extracted metal was then worked into axes, knives, spear, rings and other items. The Makua people have traditionally been dedicated to agriculture and hunting, yet medieval era documents suggest that the Makua people were also successful traders that controlled the trade routes between
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 fre ...
and the Atlantic coast doing brisk business with the Swahili (East Africa) and Gujarati (India) merchants before the start of the colonial era. However, prior to the 18th-century, the Makua population was primarily exchanging food, ivory tusks and metal products for textiles, salt and other products, but they were not involved in the trade of ivory or gold. In the 18th century there was a dramatic increase in the ivory trade which required large scale killing of elephants.


Colonialism and slavery

The Portuguese who arrived in Mozambique in early 16th-century describe them for their trading relationships and expertise. The colonial settlers contacted the Makua people in early 16th century. The Makua people were generally peaceful with the colonial Portuguese in 17th century and throughout the mid 18th century. The Makua people encountered slave raids and capture from their northern neighbors, specifically the Yao people, an African ethnic group who targeted them to meet the slave demand of Swahili Arabs centered around
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...
. The Makua people retaliated with a war of attrition from 1749 onwards, against the Arabic Sultans of the African coast bordering the Indian Ocean, the Portuguese and the other African ethnic groups that supported colonial interests. In early 18th-century, states Edward Alpers, the primary demand for slaves out of Makua people, and Mozambique in general, came not from Portugal or its Indian Ocean colonies such as
Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...
because labor was readily available in South Asia and Portuguese colonial empire in Asia was small. The largest demand came from the 'Umani
Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
s seeking slaves for domestic labor and the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
who lacked plantation workers but controlled nearby island colonies such as
Comoros The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...
,
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...
,
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
,
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
, Isle de France (now Mauritius) and others. With the growth of Portuguese interests in Brazil and of plantation owners from other colonial empires in the Caribbean, North and South America, the demand for slaves grew dramatically. The Makua people were one of the major victims of this demand, slave capture and export that attempted to satisfy this demand. In the 19th century, the Makua chiefs joined the lucrative trading by becoming a supplier of slaves and raiding ethnic groups near them, selling the captured people to the same merchants and exporters. The exports of Makua people has led to this ethnic group's presence in many islands of the Indian Ocean such as Madagascar, the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, the
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and elsewhere. According to Palmer and Newitt, one of the strategies deployed by Africans and Arab slave raiders and traders was to dehumanize the Makua and Lomwe communities, by publicly stereotyping them as "barbarous and savage tribes", which made slave buyers between 1800 and 1880 feel justified and righteous in "exploiting, civilizing" them from their barbarous ways. In truth, state modern era scholars, the historical evidence and economic success of Makua people suggest that they were peaceful and industrious.


Religion

In the traditional religion of the Makua people, the principal deity is named Muluku; he is opposed by an evil spirit named Minepa. According to legend, Muluku created the first man and the first woman from two holes in the ground, and gave them the art of using tools. The humans were disobedient, so Muluku summoned two monkeys and gave them the same tools and instruction. Seeing that the monkeys made good use of the tools, Muluku cut off their tails and fastened them to the man and the woman, telling the monkeys to be human and the humans to be monkeys. The Makua people have predominantly held on to this traditional religion (66 to 70%), which reveres ancestors and nature spirits. The exception is the coastal population, where the Makua traders (under the influence of their Swahili-Arab customers) converted to the
Shafi'i The Shafii ( ar, شَافِعِي, translit=Shāfiʿī, also spelled Shafei) school, also known as Madhhab al-Shāfiʿī, is one of the four major traditional schools of religious law (madhhab) in the Sunnī branch of Islam. It was founded by ...
school of
Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
. According to 19th-century records made by the Portuguese, there was at that time hardly any Islamic presence among the Makua people beyond the coastal settlements. The Makua people refer to the coastal Muslim people as the ''Maka'', which may be derived from
Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
, or from the words "salt" or "coast", both of which in the Makua language translate to ''Maka''.


The Makua Diaspora

The Makua people were widely distributed around the world during the colonial era. One of the oft studied ethnography of Makua people was published in 1847 by Eugene de Froberville, after he interviewed and learnt the Makua traditions and culture from over three hundred Makua people in Mauritius plantations. Makua people once lived in the country of
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in an area near
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called Bluff. However, due to the Apartheid era Group Areas Act, they were forcibly removed from Bluff and settled in Bayview,
Chatsworth, Durban Chatsworth is a large township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa established in the 1950s to segregate the Indian population and create a buffer between the white suburbs of Durban to the north and the black townships of Durban to the south. Located ...
in 1960. Some Makua settled in
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, Mariannhill, Mariannridge, Umlazi,
Newlands East Newlands East is a township located 17 km north-west of Durban in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Geography Newlands East is bordered by Newlands West to the west and south, Durban North to the east and KwaMashu to the north Th ...
and West,
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,
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and
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. The Makua language, a
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 ...
language, is still predominantly spoken among the people, alongside
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and Zulu (in South Africa), Portuguese in Mozambique, some Swahili by the elders of the community but still spoken by many on the
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
-Mozambican border, and
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in South Africa and Tanzania.


See also

* Makhuwa language *
Makua languages The Makua or Makhuwa languages are a branch of Bantu languages spoken primarily in Mozambique. Name The name ''Makua (Macua)'', more precisely ''Makhuwa'', is used on three levels. Some sources distinguish these with differences in spelling 'Ma ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Alpers, Edward A. “Warfare in Northern Mozambique, Late Sixteenth to Late Nineteenth Centuries: The Makua of Macuana.” ''Journal of African Military History'' 1, (September 2020): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1163/24680966-bja10001 * Alpers, Edward A. ''Ivory and Slaves: Changing Pattern of International Trade in East Central Africa to the Later Nineteenth Century'' (University of California Press, 1975).


External links


Slave trade and slavery on the Swahili coast (1500-1750)
Thomas Vernet, Centre d'Etudes des Mondes Africains, Universite Paris {{Authority control Ethnic groups in Mozambique Ethnic groups in Tanzania Ethnic groups in Malawi