This book is a comprehensive account of the origins and early history of the Chewa who began to refer to themselves as ‘A Malawi’ (the Malawi) at some point after they arrived in the southern Lake Malawi area. Seventeenth-century Portuguese explorers and traders recorded the term as ‘Maravi’ whereas modern scholars use ‘Maravi’ interchangeably with the term ‘Chewa’.

Some readers will undoubtedly be surprised that an archaeologist rather than a historian has written this book. They should bear in mind though that archaeology is the only tool available for unearthing (literally) history and culture before any written records. Archaeologists call that time the pre-historic period and that is where the narration of the origins and early history of the Chewa begins. It ends about two decades before the imposition of colonial rule by the British in 1891.

Before delving into the narration, here is a synopsis of the intellectual journey that has brought me to this point. During the first few decades of the colonial period, the British attempted to record the oral traditions of the various indigenous groups in the country, perhaps with a view towards understanding their history. They published nothing from the exercise and any history taught in the country's schools was the history of the British themselves. In primary school, the favourite topics included Dr David Livingstone's exploration of the country and of other parts of southern Africa. Pupils also learned about the efforts of early Scottish missionaries to establish mission stations and schools, and about the arrival in Malawi of early British traders and settlers. The traders established the African Lakes Company, a trading company that locally assumed the name Mandala, meaning ‘spectacles’ (a fascination to the local people), worn by one of the joint managers, John Moir.

In secondary school, students came face to face with the history of the British Empire and the Commonwealth. Teachers drilled them in this history so well that some of those students still vividly recall important events in British colonial history. Perhaps what is unfortunate is that they can intelligently discuss events such as the Boston Tea Party, the Black Hole of Calcutta incident, the Anglo-Boer war and others better than they can the arrival of the Chewa at Mankhamba, or of the Tumbuka, Yao or Ngoni in various parts of the country.