essay
The establishment of the administration in Tongaland
Historians in Tropical Africa; proceedings • Salisbury • Published In 1962 • Pages: 177-195
By: Van Velsen, J..
Abstract
This is a history of the development of British administration in Nyasaland from indirect rule to a district administrative system. Van Velsen shows how this was a two-way process. Indirect rule failed because the Tonga were never a chiefdom that the British could influence from the top down. Rather Tonga chiefs or leaders were ‘primus inter pares,’ with limited powers. Tonga chiefs challenged the original system of paramount chiefs and the British acquiesced by forming a chief council. The council grew in size and power, gaining control of the courts. The Tonga believed the new system very effective, however, the British thought otherwise and disbanded it in 1948, replacing it with a district administration system of appointed chiefs.
- HRAF PubDate
- 2001
- Region
- Africa
- Sub Region
- Southern Africa
- Document Type
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator Type
- Ethnographer
- Document Rating
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- 5: Excellent Primary Data
- Analyst
- Ian Skoggard; 1999
- Field Date
- 1951-1956
- Coverage Date
- 1881-1955
- Coverage Place
- Nkhata Bay district, Northern Province, Malawi
- Notes
- by J. van Velsen
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 195)
- LCCN
- 73156884
- LCSH
- Ethnology--Malawi