CULTURE

An ancient oral tradition, 400 years of Portuguese control, an even longer trading relationship with the Arab, Indian and Malay world and interaction with surrounding formerly British and German-controlled countries make for a cultural expression that borrows unashamedly from Europe and southern Asia, but has emerged in recent years as embodying a very distinctive ´Moçambicanidade´
(Mozambiquenicity).

Inside Mozambique the Zambezi River and has always been a formidable barrier to physical and cultural migration.  Some speak of ´Two Mozambiques´, the region to the north of the Zambezi being dominated by the Makua tribe (70%) and Muslim religion (65%).  Mozambique south of the Zambezi is historically dominated by the Catholic religion and tribes of the Nguni – language groupings such as the Shangaan (60%), Sena (20%) and Rhonga (15%) with English-speaking South Africa also exerting a strong cultural influence. 

Since the 7^th Century, Mozambique has been visited by Arabian, Indian, Swahili and Chinese traders, attacked by Dutch and British warships, looted by Betsimisiraka pirates from the island of Madagascar and colonized by Portuguese companies, officials, farmers and renegades.  These have left their mark on the land in the form of cathedrals, palaces, mosques, fortresses, cuisine, clothing, language, music, art and dance. Since 1489 when Pero de Covilha (1450 – 1524) became the first Portuguese explorer to reach Mozambique, Portuguese trade and colonization has influenced cultural practices in the country. 

Despite persecution by both the Portuguese and the 1975 - 1986 Marxist-Leninist regime many traditional practices and beliefs of Mozambique’s indigenous people have survived and thrived.  The Makonde people of the Mueda plateau are renowned for their intricate and macabre sculptures in pau preto (ebony), their bizarre facial and bodily scarification, and their lipico dance masks.  The Marimbeiros (marimba players) of the Chopi tribe of the south central coastal province of Inhambane with their sonorous timbila (xylophones) remain famous for their complex musical arrangements and dance.

LITERATURE

Contrasting other former Portuguese territories the written word was virtually unknown in Mozambique until the beginning of the 20^th century.  This is largely because Lisbon did not promote this ´Province´ as a fit place to settle families and therefore neglected to provide services such as education.  The first primary school in Mozambique opened in 1899 on Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island).

Mozambican writing and art loosely reflects the following historical eras: pre-colonial (to the 15^th Century), colonial (15^th century  - 1975), independence/socialist revolutionary (1975 – 1994) and democratic (1994 to present).

The first known written mention of Mozambique dates from the 10^th century when Arab writer al-Mas'udi (896 – 956), in Muruj adh-dhahab wa ma'adin al-jawahir (The Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems),
referred to the town of Sofala as an exporter of gold.  .

Mozambique’s strong oral storytelling tradition has been drawn on by most of the country's early and contemporary writers. The first Portuguese scripts written in Mozambique appeared in 1899 in a
light-hearted periodical called Almanach de Lembranças (Almanac of Souvenirs). Until the recent democratic era (1994 -) literary output was further hamstrung by an extremely low literacy rate and heavy censorship.  Writers such as Luis Bernardo Honwana (1942 -), best known for the book Nós matámos o Cão-Tinhoso ´We Killed Mangy-Dog´ (Heinemann, 1969), were imprisoned by the Portuguese colonial police.

The first Mozambican to write in an indigenous language was Yohanna Barnaba Abdallah (died 1924) who was a clergyman in Niassa province.  A scholar of the Greek language and of the Bible, Abdallah’s chief claim to fame is a seminal study of the Yao people and Yao language called: Chiikala cha Wayao (The Yaos), published in 1919 by the British colonial government printer in Zomba, British Nyasaland (now called Malawi).

As the vast majority of Mozambicans cannot write or read in their native tongue, since independence in 1975 most poets and writers have preferred to use the colonial Portuguese language as their medium. 

Poetry

In his epic work ‘Os Lusíadas’ (The Lusiads, 1572), the Portuguese poet Luis de Camões (1524 – 1580), who visited Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island) twice between 1567 and 1569, was the first poet to write at length about Mozambique.  Os Lusíadas is a whimsical depiction of the 15^th and 16^th Century Portuguese voyages of discovery. 

Despite his Sonetos (Sonnets) only being published after his death, Rui de Noronha (1909 – 1943) is considered to be the harbinger of modern Mozambican poetry. Living poets such as Nobel Prize
nominee José Craveirinha, Albino Magaia and the youthful Eusébio Sanjane (1988 -) have had a significant impact on Mozambique’s literature.

Craveirinha is recognized as Mozambique’s greatest living poet; Themes such as racism and the Portuguese colonial repression in Mozambique dominate his poems. In 2003, Joaquim Chissano, then President of Mozambique, declared Craveirinha a “national hero” for his literary contribution to the fight against colonialism.

Eduardo White (1963 -) founded the literary journal Charrua in 1986 and has published eight collections of poetry the most recent being O Homem a Sombra e a Flor e Algumas Cartas do Interior (2004).   Just 20 years old, Eusébio Sanjane (1988 -), author of“Rosas e Lágrimas” (Roses and Tears, Editora Ndjira 2005) is a notable member of a new generation of Mozambican writers.  

Prose

Contemporary Mozambican novelists such as Lília Momplé (1935 -), Mia Couto (1955 -), and Paulina Chiziane (1955 -) are strongly influencing current Mozambican and Lusophone literature.  Momplé
participated in Mozambique's liberation movement from exile before returning to Maputo in 1981.  Momplé published the short-story collection Ninguèm mataou Suhura ‘Nobody Killed Suhura’ (Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos 1988) and the novels Neighbors (Neighbors: The Story of Murder, Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos 1995) and Os Olhos da Cobra Verde (‘The Eyes of the Green Cobra’, Associação dos Escritores Moçambicanos, 1997).

In 2007 Couto received the Prémio União Latina de Literaturas Românicas (The Latin Union Award for Romanic Literature). 
Couto’s most celebrated works are Terra Sonâmbula ‘Sleepwalking Land’ (Caminho 1996), O Último Voo do Flamingo (The Last Flight of the Flamingo, Caminho, 2001), A Varanda do Frangipani (Under the Frangipani, Caminho 1996) Um Rio Chamado Tempo, Uma Casa Chamada Terra (A River Called Time, A House Called Land, Caminho 2002).  With his characteristic ‘magical realism’ style, Couto is certainly Mozambique’s most well-known and prolific novelist.
 

Paulina Chiziane’s ´Balada do Amor ao Vento´ (Ballad of Love in the Wind, Associação Moçambicana de Escritores, 1990) is probably Mozambique’s first feminist novel. Her latest novels are “Niketche -
Uma História de Poligamia” (Niketche – A Story of Polygamy, Companhia das Letras 2004), and O Alegre Canto da Perdiz (The Cheerful Song of the Partridge, Caminho 2008).

ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Hunter-gatherers produced profound rock art and engravings in hillside shelters throughout the highlands of central Mozambique.  Only a few inches (centimeters) tall, likola face and torso decorations mirror the scarification that is still displayed by some Makonde people today.  Mapiko masks (used in Lipico dances) are worn over the top of the head to represent the deceased or to mock or parody the living  - human hair being pasted onto the mask and thin rolls of beeswax applied to mimic scarification.

In the late colonial era, Makonde sculptors began to move away from their traditional shetani or spirit sculptures. Nyakenya Nang'undu (early 20^th century) is recognized as the first Makonde to give up farming in order to sculpt for a living.  This gave rise to a new genre called binadamu or ‘realistic’ depictions.

Inspired by the Indian sari and the Indonesion sarong the ubiquitous and colorful Capolana – a wrap in thin distinctively patterned cotton, transforms Mozambican women into mobile artworks. The absence of images of people such as politicians and celebrities, distinguishes the Mozambican Capolana from the Kanga, Zambia, Pano or Chitenji worn by women in other parts of Africa.

Founded in 1936, the Associação Núcleo de Artes is the oldest western-style collective of artists in Mozambique and its fortunes closely match the political history of Mozambique.  After 1975 the Núcleo members traveled the country to paint hundreds of huge murals depicting the glories of the revolution, some of which have survived and become world-famous.  

The post 1994 democratic era precipitated a new generation of artists such as Jorge Dias (1972 -), Carmene Muianga (1974 -) and Marcos Muthewuye (1972 -) who moved beyond ´colonial modernism´, creating their own brand of contemporary art in Mozambique.  Artists such as the painters Malangatana (1936 - 1911) and Naguib (1955 -), sculptors Chissano (1934 – 1994) and Naftal Langa (1932 -) have achieved international renown. 

Malangatana’s haunting paintings and monumental murals portray the sufferings of the colonial period and the civil war. Naguib first exhibited publicly in 1977 in Maputo and his work is inspired by the varying moods of the great Zambezi River that flows through his native province of Tete.  

ARCHITECTURE

While the traditional rural communal homestead of round mud and thatch huts (rondawels) is still common today, where the Indian Ocean spice merchants met the gold and ivory traders of the African mainland, coastal towns such as Sofala (700AD), Angoche (1485) and Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island, 15^th Century) developed.

The
13-15th century ‘Great Zimbabwe’ – style stone ruins at Manyikeni are a remnant of a network of Karanga kingdoms called Mwene Mutapa (Monomotapa) that once controlled the lands between the Zambezi and the Limpopo Rivers.  

Ilha de Moçambique (Mozambique Island or Muipiti in the Swahili dialect), for centuries the country’s capital, is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.  Some of the coral-block mosques, warehouses and villas that Vasco da Gama would have seen when he anchored of Ilha in 1498, are still in use. 

Mozambique Island’s Bairro Museu  (Museum district) or ¨Stone Town” is where most buildings of historical and architectural merit are located, the most obvious being the massive Italian Renaissance - style São Sebastião (Saint Sebastian) fortress built from 1546 to 1583.   Immediately to the north of the fortress is the Manueline-vaulted Capela de Nossa Senhora do Baluarte (Chapel of Our Lady of the Bastion) which was built in 1522 and is probably the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere.

Along the tree-line Avenidas and overlooking the plazas, courtyards, statues, and fountains are the Palaçio de São Pãulo (1674) the former governor's palace, now a museum, Mozambique’s first mosque (circa 700 AD), the 16^th Century Jesuit-built Igreja da Misericórdia  (Church), the Capitania do Porto (Port Authority) built in 1752 and the imposing Neo-classical (Greek/Schinkel-style) Hospital de Moçambique (1877), oldest in the country.  The Rua do Fogo (street of fire), where Camões once stayed, offers good examples of Indo/Omani carved doors.

Mozambique’s main cities have wide tree-lined Avenidas (avenues), public gardens, and paved sidewalks.   The ‘Alternative Modernist' architect Amancio d'Alpoim (Pancho) Guedes (1925 -) designed many of Maputo´s landmark office and apartment buildings.  Guedes classics in Maputo´s Baixa (Downtown) are the Padaria Saipal (Saipal bakery, 1952) and the ´Leão que Ri´ (Smiling Lion, 1956 - 1958).

Other architectural masterpieces in Maputo include the Casa Amarela (now the Museu Nacional da Moeda or Museum of money - Moorish, 1861), Fortaleza da Nossa Senhora da Conceição  (Fortress, 1787), Estação dos Caminhos de Ferro (railway station, built by Gustave Eiffel, Victorian, 1910), Casa de Ferro (Iron House, also by Eiffel, 1895), the Catedral de Maputo (cathedral, Art-Deco, 1944), the Edifício
do Conselho Municipal de Maputo (Town Counsel Building, neo-classical, 1945), the Hotel Polana (Colonial-Mediterranean, 1922), the Mercado Municipal  (Town market, 1903, neoclassical - replica of Aster Hall, Hamburg),  and the Museu de História Natural (Natural History Museum, Manueline, 1933). 

Maputo, Vilankulo, Beira, Quelimane, Pemba and Lichinga (amongst many others) have iconic examples of Art-Deco Architecture such as Maputo’s Hotel Restaurante Costa do Sol (1939) and many buildings along Avenida 25 de Setembro. Others are Vilankulo’s Hotel Dona Anna (1960), Beira’s Motel do Estoril  (1935), Quelimane’s Hotel Chuabo, Pemba’s Cinema Pemba and Lichinga’s Sede de Governo (Provincial
Government building).

Many churches and cathedrals in Mozambique are noteworthy: In Machava near Maputo there is the Guedes designed Igreja da Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church, 1960), in Maputo the ‘Lemon-squeezer styled’ Igreja de Santo António da Polana (Modernist, 1962) and the Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Our Lady of the Concession, art-deco 1942).  Overlooking Chidenguele is the Catedral de São João (St George’s Cathedral), while Catedral Metropolitana de Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Fatima) dominates Praça de Independéncia (Independence Square) in Nampula.

MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS

MUSIC

From the rowdy rhythms and spirited melodies of Chopi timbila (wooden xylophone) orchestras and the rich vocal ‘a cappella’ (Xincayincayi) harmonies of the Shangaan (Tsonga) people, to a busy jazz and experimental music scene in the Capital, Mozambican music is experiencing an energetic period of revival and innovation.

The Chopi
migodo (dance) tradition of Timbila (xylophone orchestras), consisting of up to thirteen timbila accompanied by Basinyi (dancers), was first noted by the Portuguese Fr. Andre Fernandes in 1562.  An example is the shield-slamming stomp dance (the ‘gumboot’ dance of South Africa’s mines) in which drum strokes accentuate the movements of the dancers who each bear a shield, spear or machete. Venancio Mbande (1930) is one of the last remaining master musicians of the timbila tradition, while ‘Conjunto Ndzumbe De Bairro Inhagoia’ is locally considered to be one of the finest timbila orchestras in Mozambique.

In the
1950s, a fast-paced sound often played so hard on homemade guitars that the fishing-line strings snapped ("arrabentar") – gave rise to a uniquely Mozambican genre of urban music and dance called Marrabenta.  Marrabenta incorporates a local folk rhythm called the "Majika" into its mix, as well as calypso and Angolan pop that arrived with sailors in the port of Maputo.

Recently, veteran Marrabenta band Ghorwane - whose founder was murdered during the civil war - returned to the national stage. Originally formed in 1979, Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Moçambique has also regrouped and is performing with Chiquito of the Mozambican hip-hop group Mad Level.

Fado, an urban Portuguese folk music, with Moorish (Arab) and African influences, was very popular in colonial Lourenço Marques but faded into obscurity during Mozambique’s Socialist period.  Today a Fadista (female Fado singer) accompanied by two guitars (one Portuguese, the other Spanish) can once more be heard singing of saudade (bittersweet longing).

PERFORMING ARTS

Theatrical performance in Mozambique has always served several purposes, including religious expression and divination, preparation for war, marking military victories, the installation of chiefs, initiation ceremonies, weddings, funerals and often simply to parody authority figures.

Mozambique’s dance repertoire consists of contemporary dance and fusion pieces as well as traditional folkloric dances such as: Tufu or Nssope, a dance with Arabic origins from the northern coast of Mozambique performed by women at celebrations.

Xigubo was brought to southern Mozambique in the 19th century by Nguni warriors and was performed to celebrate military victories and to prepare warriors for battle. Niquetxe is performed in Zambézia where tea plantation workers escape their hardships through dance.

Semba, from Sofala Province expresses the amorous feelings of young people in love.  N’ganda, a dance from Niassa Province has its origins during World War I (1914-1918) when returning conscripts flaunted their military prowess in parades. Makwaya is a wedding dance with its origins in Manica and Sofala provinces during which members of the groom and bride’s families compete jovially among themselves.

FESTIVALS AND CEREMONIES

Reflecting a history of colonial control and civil strife, many of Mozambique’s Feriados Nacionais (public holidays) celebrate important events in the wars of independence against Portugal, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Apartheid South Africa.  No religious holidays are officially recognized; nevertheless many businesses and services voluntarily close their doors over Easter and Christmas.

Mozambique’s official public holidays are:

• 1 de Janeiro (January): Dia da Fraternidade Universal (Universal day of brotherhood).     
• 3 de Fevereiro (February): Dia dos Heróis Moçambicanos (Mozambican Heroes day – in honor of Eduardo Mondlane, the first president of Frelimo – the Mozambican Liberation Front).
• 7 de Abril (April): Dia da Mulher Moçambicana (Mozambican Women’s´ day – in honor of Josina Machel, mother of Samora Machel, liberated Mozambique’s first president).
• 1 de Maio (May): Dia Internacional dos Trabalhadores (International Workers´ day).
• 25 de Junho (June): Dia da Independência Nacional (National Independence day – date when Mozambique achieved independence from Portugal).
• 7 de Setembro (September): Dia da Vitória (Victory Day – to commemorate the signing of the Acordos de Lusaka that signaled the capitulation of the Portuguese).
• 25 de Setembro: Dia das Forças Armadas (Armed Forces day – to commemorate the first attacks at Chai that began the armed struggle.
• 4 de Outubro (October): Dia da Paz e Reconciliação (Day of Peace and Reconciliation – to commemorate the Acordo Geral de Paz or General Peace Accord that was signed in 1992).
• 25 de Dezembro (December): Dia da Família (Family Day).

The following festivals have achieved national recognition and are regular events:

Gwaza Muthini: This is a celebration during early February of an 1894 battle between Shangaan warriors and colonial forces that is seen as the first major rebellion against the Portuguese invaders. 

Festival Umoja aims to develop Mozambique art and culture - in Maputo during August. 

Mwambulato Makonde Festival:  From the 25th of July vamwidumbi (Muidumbeans) celebrate the birth date of their district through an informal cultural festival consisting of Lipico dance groups that compete for fame under the shade of mango trees.

Festival do Marrabenta:  Organized by the Centro Cultura Franco Moçambicano (French-Mozambican Cultural Centre) and held in Maputo, Marracuene, Matalane and Chibuto during January and February each year.

Festival dos marimbeiros de Zavala (Chopi Music Festival): Held between July and August at Quissico village in the province of Inhambane to promote Chope traditional music, poetry and timbila (marimba) playing.  Also referred to as M’saho, or Festival de Timbila.  

Corrida São Silvestre (St. Sylvester road-running race).  Named after the oldest and most prestigious street race in Brazil - takes place every year on 31st of December in Maputo, culminating in an all-night music festival.

Peregrinação a Namaacha  (Catholic pilgrimage to Namaacha):  Since 1944, every year on May 13, lead by brass bands and choirs, up to 100 000 Catholics undertake the 80km journey from Maputo to Namaacha where they gather at the Santuário de Nossa Senhora de Fátima (Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima) to commemorate the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on 13 May

FOOD AND DRINK

From the mid 7^th century Arabs and Indians began trading along the Mozambican coastline as far south as Sofala, introducing many spices as well as salt.   Since the 15^th century the Portuguese dominated trade introducing cassava (mandioca), a starchy root, and cashew (caju) trees.  Staples such as pãoziho (Portuguese bread rolls) - commonly called pão - are still widely baked, often inside hollowed-out termite mounds.

The staple diet of most rural Mozambicans is based on the mandioca (cassava) root, which can be baked, dried in the sun or ground into coarse flour and then cooked with water to form porridge. Matapa, a relish made by boiling bean or cassava leaves in coconut milk and then adding ground peanuts or cashews and sometimes shrimp, is also a favorite.

The urban staple diet is a corn flour (milho) porridge called massa, ncima (xima) or rice (arroz) prepared in coconut water enjoyed with a relish (caril) that is usually beans (feijão) or - on special occasions or during festivals - a thin fish (peixe) or goat (cabrito) stew (guisado).  Fish (peixe), shellfish (mariscos) and prawns (camarões) are common in the coastal regions and are commonly served with matapa or fried potato chips (batatas frita).

Caril normally refers to curry but in Mozambique it means any form of relish that accompanies massa or mandioca. Feijão nhembe are chickpea-like beans that are cooked and then either taken as food for a journey or sold at bus stops by the handful.  Maçaroca is corn-on-the-cob roasted over the coals in markets or in open-air ketches behind houses. Peixe seco is usually tiny sardine-like fish that are dried and salted to preserve them.  Matssange is a wild fruit, roughly the size of a litchi, common in the highlands of Manica province.

The Portuguese and Indian (Goanese) influence is most evident in dishes such as frango piri-piri à Zambéziana  (chicken rubbed with hot chilli sauce – specialty of the province of Zambézia) and caril pilã (curried vegetables), on rice (arroz) and served with achar (mango chutney).  A typical meal at a restaurant could consist of a petisco (starter) such as rissóis de camarão (crumbed prawn rissoles). Pratos principais (main courses) are often lagosta grelhado (grilled lobster) or galinha cafreal (chicken the African Way).  Deserts (sobremesas) could be ananás com gengibre (gingered pineapples) or liphete (sweat toasted cassava).  A Mozambican specialty drink made from equal parts of vinho tinto (red wine) and coke called Catemba may be served.

Alcoholic drinks (bebidas) include locally distilled sura (palm wine), ntondondo (cashew fruit spirit), nipa (sugar can spirit) and Amarula (marula-fruit spirit) while aguardente (brandy) and vinho tinto e branca (red and white wine) are imported from Portugal and South Africa.   Mozambique’s breweries produce excellent cerveja (beer) with Laurentina popular in the southern regions, Manica in the central areas and Dois Em (2M) enjoyed throughout. Children would enjoy a refresco or a soft fizzy drink. A non-alcoholic corn-flour beverage called maheu is commonly served at ceremonies, for breakfast or as a snack.

MOZAMBIQUE - DAILY LIFE

A modern, democratic and open society only began to emerge in Mozambique after the country’s first democratic elections which were held during 1994. 
Prior to this daily life in Mozambique had been dictated for centuries by Portuguese colonial domination and then, for about 20 years prior to 1994, by a Marxist-Socialist experiment overseen by the Soviet Union.  Traditional values, practices and beliefs have survived concerted attempts at eradication and underlying a veneer of ‘westernization’, there lies a powerful world of superstition, spells and sorcery. 

Social expression in Mozambique has for at least the past millennium been meddled with and molded by influences from far beyond its physical boundaries.  Paradoxically almost 20 years of devastating
civil strife (1976 – 94) insulated this former Portuguese possession’s cultural life from becoming economically and culturally dominated by the surrounding more powerful English speaking nations such as South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi. 

Today Mozambique may be a society undergoing transition from economic and cultural isolation to global integration but Portuguese ties remain important; Portuguese is Mozambique’s only official language, daily newspapers are written in Portuguese, and Latin-oriented theatre, music and dance are still favored over the more commercial genres.

99.66% of the population is ethnically African but there is a strong geographical divide as Mozambique north of the Zambezi river is dominated by Makhuwa (26.1% of total population) and Elomwe (7.6%) speakers while the population south of the Zambezi are mainly Xichangana (11.3%), Portuguese (8.8%) Cisena (6.8%) and Echuwabo (5.8%) speakers by home-language.  The official language and language of instruction in schools is Portuguese but just 14% percent of the population consider themselves to be fluent in this language of their former colonial rulers.

RELIGION

Recent informal surveys indicate that at least 85% of Mozambicans still regularly consult traditional ‘curandeiros’ or N’angas (traditional healers) and, according to the 2007 census, 40% claim to practice traditional African religions, 40% follow Christianity (24% Roman Catholic, 22% Protestant) and 20% are Muslim.  Hinduism and Judaism are also practiced in Mozambique with a few thousand Hindus and perhaps a few hundred Jews living in Maputo City.   

Traditional healers are respected members of Mozambican Society, their counsel being pivotal in the social, economic, spiritual, family and economic lives of community members and political leaders alike. 
During the 1977 – 1992 civil war, the Rebel Renamo movement enlisted (often through violence) the support of these Curandeiros to intimidate the villagers into supporting them, a strategy which contributed to a surprisingly good showing (47% of the Presidential vote) in the first democratic elections in 1994. 

During the past decade the country has experience a proliferation of  evangelical (Pentecostal) churches such is the Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus  (Universal Church of the Kingdom of God  or UCKG), and the John Marange Apostolic Church, often referred to as simply ‘Mapostori’ which claims 10 million followers worldwide.   

FAMILY AND SOCIETY

During the 1975 – 1994 civil upheaval in Mozambique approximately 70% of the population either sought refuge in neighboring countries or became internally displaced.   Many children were orphaned by the war and family life was severely disrupted.  In 1992 it was estimated that there were less than 30 functional secondary schools remaining in Mozambique and that adult literacy was less than 20%.

Many returnees who took advantage of the relative peace and prosperity of the post 1994 democratic era could not return to their former villages due to the presence of landmines, and flocked to the huge shanty towns that now surround major cities such as Maputo, Beira, Nampula and Pemba.  The threat of detonating a landmine is still limiting the amount of available arable land in some parts of the country.  

The incidence of HIV/AIDS is currently estimated to be about 13% of adults between the ages of 15–49, and 470,000 children are so-called AIDS orphans, nearly a third of all orphans.  The population growth rate, (according to the UN) which slowed in the turbulent 1980’s was 1.75%. (2003) when total population was estimated at over 18 million.

The  South African gold mining industry’s policy of favoring migrant workers has led to up to a million Mozambican men leaving their villages and living in single-sex hostels on the mines.  This has severely disrupted family life as women have to raise children on their own and are exposed to HIV/Aids by their husbands who often ‘marry’ other women in mining towns, or have multiple sexual partners. 
On the other hand a proportion of mine-worker salaries have by law been remitted home and this has made a positive contribution to many rural communities.

Demographically Mozambique is a very young nation with 45% of the population under 15 years of age and only just over 3%  over 65 years old (2003 census).  Rapid urbanization has been the biggest single contributor to changing the social face of Mozambique with the proportion of the total population living in urban areas jumping from less than 10% in 1975 to over 40% in 2001 with Maputo City at 2,867,000, Beira at 299,300 and Nampula at 202,600 accommodating the majority of this number.

Women are guaranteed equality under the Mozambique’s 1994 constitution (50% of government Ministers must be women) and the new Law of the Family (2003) redefines the status of women in society, recognizing customary or non-formal traditional marriages, and allows widows to inherit land and other property.  Nevertheless, particularly in rural areas, the role of women is limited to bringing up children, running the household, collecting water and firewood and working in the fields.

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Relative political stability and an economic growth rate of nearly 10% per annum have not translated into prosperity for the majority of Mozambicans.  On the UNDP (United Nations Development Program) Human Development Index scale Mozambique is rated at 96 out of a possible low of 103 – with nearly three-quarters of the population living below the national poverty line.

The colonial public health system focused on a few privileged people either living in the cities, or who had enough money to be able to travel to a hospital or a clinic.  When a new Portuguese government suddenly abandoned its overseas ´Provinces’ in 1975, the mass exodus of qualified professionals included almost all doctors and nurses.  The new Frelimo government trained and assigned soldiers to provide primary health care, and access to health services initially improved greatly but by 1980 Renamo rebels had destroyed almost all rural clinics, killing many health and education workers.

Mozambique’s second poverty reduction strategy, PARPA II (Plan to Reduce Absolute Poverty, 2006-2009) aims to provide universal health care, but it will struggle to attain these goals with a doctor - patient ratio of 1: 32 000 and with 75% of Mozambican doctors working outside of the country, mostly in South Africa and Portugal. 

Mozambique’s attempt at providing social security, the Instituto Naçional de Segurança (National Social Security Institute), compels employees to contribute 3% of their salary, and their employer, 4%, towards retirement.  In practice few Mozambicans are ever registered with the system, even fewer (in a country where average life expectancy is 42 years) will reach retirement age and fraud and incompetence have left the INSS virtually bankrupt.

EDUCATION

Until Mozambique achieved independence from Portugal the colonial administration excluded the vast majority of the indigenous population from all but the most  basic of education with the result that in 1975, just 7% of rural Mozambicans were literate.  By 2003 adult literacy had increased to 47.8% of the total population but significantly male literacy at 63.5% was almost twice the female rate of 32.7%.

To a very limited, but significant extent, missionary schools filled the education void, Eduardo Mondlane, the first president of Frelimo, being educated at a Methodist Seminary called Cambine in Inhambane province, which is still thriving today. It is estimated that at independence in 1975 there were only a few dozen indigenous University graduates in Mozambique and some Ministries were handed to people who were practically illiterate.

By law all citizens are required to attend school through the primary level (class 7) but many rural children (predominantly girls) drop out because they have to help with  subsistence farming or to raise younger siblings, while urban children are forced to roam the city streets begging, working or stealing for a living. The 2007 Census revealed that at least one million children still did not go to school at all in Mozambique and that while country-wide enrollment increased by 25%, only 2% ever complete their schooling.

During the post 1994 democratic period, the school network grew substantially, with the number of lower primary schools increasing from 6,114 in 1998 to 8,077 in 2003. The net enrollment rate for lower primary grades (EP1 - grades 1 to 5) reached 69% in 2003 compared to 44% in 1997.  Space in Mozambican universities is extremely limited forcing most students who complete pre-university school to work as teachers, leave the country or remain unemployed.

LAND OWNERSHIP

Under the 1994 Constitution all Land in Mozambique is “the property of the State and cannot be sold or otherwise alienated, mortgaged or encumbered” (Law 19/97). This means that ‘freehold’ or private ownership of land is not possible in Mozambique although a DUAT (Direito de Uso e Aproveitamento de Terra) or the right to ‘use and benefit from the land’ can be obtained through lawful occupation for 10 years or by obtaining a lease from the government.  Despite concerted efforts by the IMF and other donor agencies to push for private property to be legalized in Mozambique, the Frelimo government has dragged its heals mainly due to the deep spiritual bonds between land and the ancestral spirits held by traditional beliefs in Mozambique.  Many observers have noted that any change to the status quo regarding land rights in Mozambique could precipitate a widespread popular uprising against the government and almost certainly a swing towards the opposition Renamo party.