THE MAJI MAJI NATURAL HISTORICAL OF NGONI MUSEUM AT SONGEA MUNICIPALITY

HISTORICALLY the Ngoni people were situated as the Bantu speakers had settled in Southern Africa in groups such as Sotho –Tswana the Ngoni Shone and the Tsonga  Ngoni who became dominant and also the Xhosa were the one of the branch of Ngoni.

Due to the historical  background shows that the Ngoni people were escaped the ruling power  of Shaka Zulu,when the Mzilikazi in 1823 decided to run away Northwards to the  Shonaland and modern Zimbabwe. Because Shaka was an autocrat person.

 Shaka became a supreme autocrat controlling everything in Zululand. he made himself as spiritual and judicial leader, had no children for fear they would turn against him when they grew up, therefore he was a killer he slaughtered thousand of people when his mother died.

Politically the Ngoni people were organized into numerous but small hereditary chiefdoms, in average Ngoni chiefdom consisted of four to five villages with the chief called the Nkosi. But among the ngoni were chosen from the royal clan, the heir to the throne son was in principle the eldest son of the senior wife of the chief.

The ngoni chiefdoms were temporal and spiritual leaders, they were responsible for administration of the chiefdoms and for the dispensation of justice, they presided over social and religious ceremonies.

In other hand the chief did not enjoy his power, because the chief’s power were checked by his own privy council, is also his power was also often challenged by his brothers or even his sons therefore the chief had to attract and retain supporters in order to maintain their power.

Economically the ngoni people were subsistence economies which encompassed the cultivation of crops, animal husbandry ,crafts, mining ,metallurgy and barter trade which the structure and composition of these economies varied from community to community and were conditioned by environmental factors. such as distribution of water and rainfall, soil fertility and natural resource  endowment.

Finally we welcomed you to the Majimaji  National  Historical museum of Songea the place  Chiefs were buried  among of them were Nkonsi Gama, Songea Mbano,Chandamali,and also the Memorial of majimaji war of July 1905 to August 1907 which started at Nandele village Kilwa District Lindi Region.

When you face majimaji National museum Songea  Municipality

This is the attractive place of  majimaji National  Museum  of  Songea  Municipality,where you can enjoy  your self  by  observing  traditional historical things of the Ngoni people and the place were chiefs buried,Welcome Songea,Welcome Majimaji Museum. ( Photo by Christian Sikapundwa )