ABSTRACT
Diversity is the genesis of change, hence particular attention is given to differences which were apparent among the Nyakyusa-Ngonde people. This chapter expresses the diversity of the pre-colonial period was first and foremost local: it was linked to ecology and peculiarities of local history, and was nourished by isolation. The Nyakyusa-Ngonde people spoke one language distinct from that of their neighbours, the Kinga, the Nyiha-Safwa, the Sangu, the Tumbuka, and the Iwa-Nyamwanga. Differences in Nyakyusa-Ngonde dialects coincided in some measure with differences in economy, related to differences in altitude, rainfall, and accessibility, and these in turn with differences in political structure, law, ritual, and convention. The Kingdom of Ngonde included a larger population and maintained much wider trade contacts than any Nyakyusa chiefdom. Interaction between early inhabitants and the descendants of the heroes probably continued over 500 years, and the growth of divergent dialects was fostered by isolation within the Nyakyusa-Ngonde area itself.
