Massangano

Massangano lies where the Luenha meets the Zambezi, at a crossing between the great river and routes into the gold-bearing plateau. In the seventeenth century the area commanded an important approach to the inland goldfields. From the river, traders followed paths beside the Luenha and Mazowe towards the fairs of the Mutapa country, carrying cloth and beads and seeking gold from local producers. Pools in the riverbeds supplied water even during the dry season.