Tonga in Zimbabwe

The Tonga people are found in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia. The word ‘Tonga’ is derived from the word ‘BaDonga’ meaning the ‘People of the Great River.’ Tonga culture is therefore inseparable from the Zambezi River. In present-day Zimbabwe, the Tonga people are found in five provinces and eleven districts: Matabeleland North province - Binga, Hwange, Lupane, and Nkayi districts. Mashonaland West province - Kariba/Nyaminyami and Hurungwe/Chirundu districts. Midlands province - Gokwe North and Gokwe South districts, Mashonaland Central province - Mt Darwin district, and Mashonaland East province - Mudzi district. There are 231,159 (1.7%) mother-tongue speakers of the Tonga language in Zimbabwe.