ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some of the problems facing the sociologist participating in the preparation of an actual developmental plan, using own experience in doing a basic social diagnosis or prefeasibility study within the framework of an integrated rural regional development project in the region of Zomba and Machinga in Malawi. A "mapping out" of the Zomba-Machinga region has revealed three potential foci of basic traditional identity and differentiation, which appear to overlap to a large extent: tribe, religion, and language. There are in fact three tribal groups in the area, the Nyanja, the Yao, and the Lomwe. The Nyanja constitute the original ribe in the region as a whole and the largest tribe in the project area. All three tribes have in common a system whereby lineage is traced through the females, in addition to a uxorilocal system of residence.
