 It was a small political unit but nevertheless historically important because its inhabitants belong to a larger cluster of peoples hereafter referred to as the Ngulube group, which comprises Safwa, Bena, Kinga, Nyakyusa and Ndali of southern Tanzania and the Sukwa and Ngonde of Malawi.Ideally the traditions of all these peoples should be correlated for a fuller understanding of what constitutes one historical area.The article discusses four main themes