The yao people, Wayao, are a major Bantu ethnic
and linguistic group based at the southern end of Lake Malawi,
which played an important part in the history of Southeast Africa during
the 19th century. The Yao are a predominantly Muslimpeople group of about 2 million spread over three
countries, Malawi, northern Mozambique, and
in Ruvuma Region andMtwara Region of Tanzania. The Yao people have a strong cultural identity,
which transcend the national borders
History
The majority of Yao were
always subsistence farmers. When Arabs arrived
on the southeastern coast of Africa they
began trading with the Yao people, mainly Ivory, grains and slaves in exchange
for clothes and guns. Because of their involvement in this coastal trade they
became one of the richest and most influential tribes in Southern Africa. Large
Yao kingdoms came into being as mighty Yao chiefs took control of the Niassa
province of Mozambique in the 19th century. During that time the Yao began to
move from their traditional home in today's Malawi and Tanzania, which resulted in the Yao populations they now have.
The most important result of the great chiefdoms was the turning of the whole
nation to Islam around the turn of the 20th century and after the 1st World
War. Because of their trade with the Arabs and Swahili, the Yao chiefs
(sultans) needed scribes who could read and write. The Islam teachers who were
employed and lived in the Yao villages, made a significant impact on the Yao
people because they could offer them literacy, a holy book, smart clothes and
square, instead of round, houses. Furthermore, the Yao sultans strongly
resisted the Portuguese, British and German colonial rule, which was viewed as
a major cultural and economic threat to them. The British tried to stop the
ivory and slave trade, (and also to colonize East Africa for themselves) by
attacking some of the Yao trade caravans near the coast. The greater Yao chief
Mataka rejected Christianity as Islam offered them a social system, which would
assimilate their traditional culture. Because of the political and ritual
domination of the chiefs, their conversion to Islam caused their subjects to do
likewise. The Islam, which they have embraced, is not the orthodox religion,
but is totally intermingled with their traditional animistic belief system. It is often referred to as Folk Islam.
The Yao in Mozambique
The Yao have lived in
northern Mozambique (formerly Portuguese East Africa). A
close look at the history of the Yao people of Mozambique as a whole will show
that their ethno geographic center is located in a small village called
Chiconono, in the northwestern Mozambican province of Niassa. The majority of Yao were subsistence
farmers, however some were also active as ivory and slave traders. They faced
social and political decline with the arrival of the Portuguese in today's Niassa Province, that established the Niassa Company, and settled in the region founding cities and
towns and destroying their independent farm and trade economy, and changing it
to a plantation economy controlled by the Portuguese. The expanding Portuguese Empire had established trading posts, forts
and ports in East Africa since the 15th century,
in direct competition with the diverse influential Muslim political forces:
Somali, Swahili, Ottomans, Mughals and Yemeni Sufi orders to a limited extent,
and increasingly Ibadi influences from independent Southeastern Arabia. The spice route and the Christian evangelization were the main driving forces behind Portuguese
expansion in the region. However, later in the 19th century, the Portuguese
were also involved in a large slave trade that transported African slaves from
Mozambique to Brazil. The Portuguese Empire was by then one of the greatest political and economic powers
in the world. Portuguese-run agricultural plantations started to
expand offering paid labour to the tribal populations workforce. The Yao
increasingly became poor plantation workers under Portuguese rule. However, the
Yao preserved their traditional culture and subsistency agriculture by their
own. As Muslims, the Yao could not stand then domination by the Portuguese,
which however, offered Christian education and taught the Portuguese language
to the Muslim ethnic group with little feedback. Currently, there are a minimum
estimated 450,000 Yao people living in Mozambique. They largely occupy the
eastern and northern part of the Niassa province and form about 40% of the population of Lichinga, the capital of this province.
The Yao outside Mozambique
The Yao moved into what is
now the western region of Malawi around the 1830s, when they were active as
farmers, and traders. Rich in culture, tradition, and music, the Yao are
primarily Muslim, and count among their famous progeny a former
President of the Republic of Malawi, Bakili Muluzi. The Yao had close ties with the Swahili on the
coast during the late 19th century, and adopted some parts of their culture,
such as architecture and Islam, but still kept their own national identity.
Their close cooperation with the Arabs gave them access to firearms, which gave
them an advantage in their many wars against neighbouring peoples, such as the Ngoni and the Chewa. The Yao actively resisted the German forces that were
colonizing Southeast Africa (roughly today's Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi). In
1890, King Machemba issued a declaration to Commander von Wissman saying that
he was open to trade but not willing to submit authority. After further
engagements, the Yao ended up surrendering to German forces.
Language
The Yao speak a Bantu language known as Chiyao (chi- being the class prefix for
"language"), with an estimated 1,000,000 speakers in Malawi,
495,000 in Mozambique, and 492,000 in Tanzania. The nationality's traditional homeland is located
between the Rovuma and the Lugenda Rivers in northern Mozambique. Other major
languages of Malawi include Chichewa and Chitimbuka. They also speak the official language of the
countries they inhabit, Swahili in Tanzania, English in Malawi and Tanzania, and Portuguese in
Mozambique.
Reference
·
J. Clyde Mitchell, The Yao Village: A Study in the
Social Structure of a Malawian Tribe Manchester: Manchester University
Press, 1956, 1966, 1971
Social Plugin