Massanza

Massanza lies in the country north of the middle Zambezi, between the river and the lands of the Maravi. In the late sixteenth century, divisions within the Maravi ruling lineage gave rise to the kingdom of Undi, whose centre lay north of Tete. Its rulers presided over tributary chiefs across a broad region. Descent through the mother's line shaped the succession, and women held important political and religious offices alongside male chiefs.