Angónia District
Encyclopedia
Angónia is a district situated in the northern part of Tete Province
in the central region of Mozambique
. Its administrative center is the town of Ulongué. It borders the districts of Tsangano and Macanga in Mozambique, and Dedza
and Ncheu in Malawi
.
The name means "Angoni land". Angoni is the plural of Ngoni/Nguni, migrant peoples from South Africa
after the disintegration of Zulu Empire
in the nineteenth century. The language spoken in the district is called Chichewa
, though others would call it Chingoni. Chichewa seems more probable because when Nguni arrived in the region there already were people there called Achewa. As warriors, the Nguni mostly killed Achewa males and married Achewa women. Their children spent most of their time with their mothers and ended up learning their mothers' language (Chichewa) and not the language of their fathers, as the fathers were away hunting or fighting.
Angónia is a plateau and relatively rich in agricultual and animal resources with very arable soils. After independence in 1975, Angónia was considered one of the granaries of Mozambique because of its production of maize
and potato
es, a prestige which ended with the civil war. The climate is cool in winter and warm/mild in summer.
Angonia has one of Mozambique's highest number of schools with three secondary schools and one high school (11 and 12 year). It also has one teachers' training college, the Instituto de Magistério Primário de Angónia (IMAP). And recently a CCAP church introduced a Bachelor of Theology course at their Instituto Cristao de Mocambique-College.
Tete Province
Tete is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 100,724 km² and a population of approximately 1.551.949 .Tete is the capital of the province...
in the central region of Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
. Its administrative center is the town of Ulongué. It borders the districts of Tsangano and Macanga in Mozambique, and Dedza
Dedza
Dedza is the main township of Dedza District in the Central Region of Malawi.Dedza is located about 85 km south of Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, off the M1 road to Blantyre at a point where a trans-African highway from Johannesburg enters the country....
and Ncheu in Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
.
The name means "Angoni land". Angoni is the plural of Ngoni/Nguni, migrant peoples from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
after the disintegration of Zulu Empire
Zulu Kingdom
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or, rather imprecisely, Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to Pongola River in the north....
in the nineteenth century. The language spoken in the district is called Chichewa
Chichewa language
Chewa, also known as Nyanja, is a language of the Bantu language family. The gender prefix chi- is used for languages, so the language is also known as Chichewa and Chinyanja.-Distribution:...
, though others would call it Chingoni. Chichewa seems more probable because when Nguni arrived in the region there already were people there called Achewa. As warriors, the Nguni mostly killed Achewa males and married Achewa women. Their children spent most of their time with their mothers and ended up learning their mothers' language (Chichewa) and not the language of their fathers, as the fathers were away hunting or fighting.
Angónia is a plateau and relatively rich in agricultual and animal resources with very arable soils. After independence in 1975, Angónia was considered one of the granaries of Mozambique because of its production of maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es, a prestige which ended with the civil war. The climate is cool in winter and warm/mild in summer.
Angonia has one of Mozambique's highest number of schools with three secondary schools and one high school (11 and 12 year). It also has one teachers' training college, the Instituto de Magistério Primário de Angónia (IMAP). And recently a CCAP church introduced a Bachelor of Theology course at their Instituto Cristao de Mocambique-College.
Further reading
- District profile (PDF)