Tumbuka people

The Tumbuka (also known as Yombe, Kamanga, Senga, Tonga and Henga) are a group of Bantu peoples found in Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The Tumbuka group is made up of over eight groups of peoples such as the Senga, Henga, Yombe, Phoka, Tonga and Tumbuka who are part of the Tumbuka family. Their language is called Chitumbuka and has 12 total known dialects such as Yombe, Senga, and Wenya, among others. Together with these groups united under one ruler, they formed a kingdom known as Nkhamanga Kingdom.

In this case, the name Tumbuka which literary means "we are crossing the lake" is a neutral and an umbrella term that encompasses all these groups who crossed the seas.

The Tumbuka people are found in the valleys near the rivers such as the Kamangas, lake where they are known as Tongas, as well as the highlands of Nyika Plateau, where they are frequently referred to as Henga although this is strictly speaking the name of a subdivision.

Historically, the Tumbuka can be subdivided into two groups: the Henga of Luba, who are the original group from Luba Kingdom, and the Tumbuka who emerged through intermarriages and war captives. These new people came to mix and settle in the Tumbuka territory long after the Tumbuka formed their kingdom of Nkhamanga. These are Yombe, Senga and Ngoni, among several others. In reality and culturally they are all Tumbuka.

There are also many smaller subsidiary Tumbuka groups by origin found mainly in the north-western corner of their original kingdom between Kalonga and Isoka. Many of these belong to the Kalonga wa Nkhonde segment of the Mulonga Mbulalubilo Tumbuka.

The Tumbuka tribe was one of the first tribes who originated from Luba in what is currently known as Democratic Republic of the Congo. That was before any formal government setup and they had been staying there for hundreds of years after breaking away from the Bantu tribes in upper central Africa.

The Tumbuka tribe and other tribes were driven out of Luba by a warrior tribe known as Kongolo. He merged with the tribes that remained in Luba after they tried to subdue the Tumbuka people and failed.