Mzuzu

Mzuzu is the capital of Malawi's Northern Region and is the third largest city, by population, in Malawi. The city has 128,432 residents and 20,000 commuters (Mzuzu University students) with about 1.7 million people living around the outskirts of the city. It is situated in Mzimba District, in the centre of an agricultural region, and the area surrounding the city specialises in tea, rubber, and coffee cultivation. The Viphya Forest to the south of the city is the largest man-made forest in Africa. Some of the popularly known locations in the city include Chibavi, Luwinga, Area 1B, Chibanja, Katoto, Zolozolo, Masasa and Mchenga-utuba.HistoryThe city was developed around the Commonwealth Development Corporation's Tung Oil Estate in 1947 and received city status in 1985. The name comes from a mispronunciation of the word 'Vizuzu' by the white settlers. Vizuzu are plants that grow along the Lunyangwa river. These plants were spotted near the present Mzuzu Government Secondary School also known as Area 1A where thetung planters settled. It became a crossroads going south, lakewards and northwards to Tanzania.CultureThe culture of the city is an amalgam of the cultures of the northern region. Tumbuka is widely spoken in Mzuzu but being a city, other languages such as Chewa, Tonga, Swahili, Ngonde are also spoken. The city has a museum under the Museums of Malawi where different artefacts depicting the cultures of the north are on display. Popular foods include batala fish (a bottle-nosed mormyrid, Mormyrus longirostris or batala in Chichewa). Batala comes from the nearby Lake Malawi waters in Nkhatabay. Other common foods include: maize, bananas, plantains, cocoa, cassava and sweet potatoes.