This paper explores identity construction amid bilingual Ngoni in rural Tanzania by letting the Ngoni themselves utter their views on their mixing of Swahili and Ngoni. Against the background of a possible language shift, this inquiry centers on how the symbolic value of language is mediated in the social action of the Ngoni. With an ethnographic approach and by employing nexus analysis and ethnolinguistic identity theory as a framework, this paper displays that the Ngoni language is the strongest bearer of Ngoni identity. Albeit the Ngoni have a monolingual norm, they code-switch. This practice, shaped by history, ideologies and large-scale discourses at the societal level, reflects a hybrid identity, formed by socio-political power structures. The assay displays that the ethnolinguistic identity of the Ngoni is weak, resulting in unstable bilingualism. Therefore, the findings fuel the debate of possible future language loss.