CHEWA

Bantu-speaking people living in the extreme eastern zone of Zambia, northwestern Zimbabwe, and Malawi. They share many cultural features with their Bemba kinsmen to the west. The Chewa language, also called Chinyanja, is important in Malawi. The economy rests primarily on swidden (slash-and-burn) agriculture, major crops being corn (maize) and sorghum. Considerable hunting and fishing are done. In the past, slavery was a universal feature of Chewa society. Descent, inheritance, and succession are matrilineal. Polygyny is general. The Chewa occupy compact and frequently stockaded villages. Each settlement has a hereditary headman and an advisory council of elders. See also Maravi.