People And Cultures: An Overview
The rich culture of Mazambique and its diverse way of life make it one of the most wonderful tourist destinations in the world. The customs of this country are deeply rooted in the culture of the local groups that is passed down generations. Let us have a glance of the culture and society of Mozambique.
Mozambican women wear Capulana
The Language
The official language of Mozambique is Portuguese but there are more than 40 regional languages and dialects that are spoken, originated from the Bantu family.
Dress And Clothing
Western clothes in the modern times have overtaken the traditional dress of the country but on specific occasion traditional dresses are worn. Mozambican women wear Capulana which is a thick cloth printed with beautiful art. Along with Capulana on top the women wear wraps from the waist downwards and scarves on their hair which they make pillows and use for transporting goods also. Men usually wear printed casual dresses of bright color.
Cuisine
Africans are fond of music and dancing
The Mozambican culture is featured through its combination of African, American, European, Italian and even Chinese food. Grilled-food and seafood are popular here and the rich spices are used to add flavor to the dishes. Cuisines of Mozambique also include rice and coconut. They are also fond of fruits like avocados, papayas, bananas, oranges, and grapefruits.
Music And Dancing
Africans are fond of music and dancing on occasions and they organize traditional music and dance programs on the ceremonies and religious events to express their customs. There are a number of dance styles and a variation of instruments and rhythms incorporated. Traditional music instruments are mainly made of wood, fruits and animal skins such as lupembe, marimba and Timbila.
Cross-Cultural Differences
One-third of the population are Christians (Roman Catholic)
The main dimension of cultural differences between the groups is the societal lineage. The northern areas of the country mostly practice matrilineal inheritance. This means males can inherit property and rights through their mothers. On contrary, the southern Mozambique mostly practices patrilineal inheritance.
Religion In Mozambique
Mozambique has a wide mix of religions comprising, one-third of the population are Christians (Roman Catholic), about a quarter are Muslims and rest are tribal. Nearly half of the population practices animist beliefs, where ancestors are worshipped as the God’s messengers and people believe that they can affect their lives with their spirits.
Local Customs
Local culture affects the practices, religious beliefs, healing methods, ceremonial rites and the way, men, and women deal with their community leaders and rest of the society. Local dance ceremonies of Mozambique includes Hunting Dance of Chopi where the men and women dress up in lion skin clothes and dance on the traditional music.
National arts company in the country
Support For The Arts
Nambu Productions is a national arts company in the country and the National Dance Company, both of which perform contemporary productions based on the national traditions and forms. The National Institute of Culture was established to collect and preserve traditional art, music, literature, and mythology.
Child Rearing And Education
Children are treated with enormous affection and love but because of low literacy rate, they are forced to work at very young age. After the civil war, many children were left without their families and these children are found in Maputo and other cities selling small items or stealing. With continuous efforts of the government the literacy rate after independence grew but until 1995 it reached only 40 %. Only 7% children were enrolled in the secondary level. Still, the attempts are going on to fix the problem of trained teachers, adequate school building, and higher education infrastructure but this problem is not going to soon eradicated.
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