Despite the existence of published oral traditions that clearly indicated where they could find the site of Mankhamba, archaeologists working at Iron Age sites in Malawi made no effort to find it. There seems to be no plausible excuse for this, except perhaps they had more than enough on their plate involving research. They busied themselves with site surveys and the excavation of sites located in Mangochi district, Bwanje Valley, along the Shire River and in the Shire Highlands in southern Malawi. Their focus in central Malawi was the Dedza-Chongoni area, Salima and Nkhotakota districts; in the north, they worked in Karonga, Rumphi and Mzimba districts.

When I completed my doctoral studies, I too gravitated to Mangochi district where I discovered and excavated the Mtemankhokwe 1 site. This turned out, however, to be another burial site with material remains similar to those recovered by Inskeep at Nkhudzi Bay, which forced me to rethink my research strategy and to look for an area that archaeologists had never investigated before. Of the many unexplored areas in Malawi, the area between Bwanje Valley and Salima was the most attractive because, according to oral traditions of the Chewa, the site of Mankhamba was located somewhere there. There was, therefore, a good chance of locating it if a well-planned site survey of the entire area were undertaken.

Current ethnic groups in the area agree that the Chewa were the earliest known ethnic group to settle there, even though they no longer wield the political power they once did. They lost political power to the Yao and the Ngoni who settled there some time during the nineteenth century. Despite that, the Chewa have retained their ritual authority. For instance, they have an active rain-calling shrine, which they located at the Mankhamba site itself, and the Nyau secret society in the area continues to thrive. Retention of these structures, which are important to Chewa culture, means that the Chewa are able to play significant cultural and social roles. When I informed Group Village Headman Kafulama, the senior Chewa headman in the Mtakataka-Mua area, about the project, he was supportive. My interactions with Kafulama and others proved helpful in locating the Mankhamba site.

Finding Mankhamba

Despite being aware of the likely geographical area of the Mankhamba site, finding its precise location was not easy.