Angónia District


Angónia District is a district in the northern part of Tete Province in the central region of Mozambique. Its administrative center is the town of Ulongué. The district is located in the northwest of the province, and borders with Dedza District of Malawi in the north, Ntcheu District of Malawi in the east, Tsangano District in the south, and with Macanga District in the west. The area of the district is. It has a population of 335,808 as of 2007.

Geography

The district is montanuous; the principal mountains are Monte Dómuè, Macungua, and Chirobwé.
According to the Köppen climate classification, the climate of the district is tropical humid, with large variations with altitude. The average rainfall in the district varies between and.

History

The name means "Angoni land". Angoni is the plural of Ngoni/Nguni, migrant peoples from South Africa after the disintegration of Zulu Empire in the nineteenth century. The language spoken in the district is Chichewa, though others would call it Chingoni. Chichewa seems more probable because when Nguni arrived in the region there already were people there called Achewa. As warriors, the Nguni mostly killed Achewa males and married Achewa women. Their children spent most of their time with their mothers and ended up learning their mothers' language and not the language of their fathers, as the fathers were away hunting or fighting.

Demographics

As of 2005, 47% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 11% of the population spoke Portuguese. 81% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into two postos, Ulongué and Dómuè.

Economy

1% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture

In the district, there are 65,000 farms which have on average of land. The main agricultural products are corn, cassava, cowpea, peanut, sweet potato, and tobacco.
Angónia is a plateau and relatively rich in agricultural and animal resources with very arable soils. After independence in 1975, Angónia was considered one of the granaries of Mozambique because of its production of maize and potatoes, a prestige which ended with the civil war. The climate is cool in winter and warm/mild in summer.

Transportation

There is a road network in the district which is long and includes a stretch of the national road EN223.

Education

Angonia has one of Mozambique's highest number of schools with three secondary schools and one high school. It also has one teachers' training college, the Instituto de Magistério Primário de Angónia. And recently a CCAP church introduced a Bachelor of Theology course at their Instituto Cristão de Moçambique-College.