Malawi

Where the name comes from

Malawi continues Maravi, an older regional name; “flames” or “flaming water”, sometimes linked to light on Lake Malawi, is a suggested but uncertain meaning.

First people

Hunter-gatherers lived here first, and the Maravi trading kingdom flourished around the lake from the 1400s.^1,2

Known for

Malawi is known for Lake Malawi, home to more fish species than any other lake, and for the Chewa’s Gule Wamkulu masked dances.³

Outside contact

Britain made it a protectorate in 1891, renamed Nyasaland in 1907.⁴

The modern country

At independence in 1964, Nyasaland became Malawi, recalling the Maravi kingdom.¹