A sparsely populated country
One year after independence, civil conflict broke out in Mozambique between the Renamo political parties and the current ruling Frelimo party. One million lives were lost in this bloody conflict, leaving some areas of the country completely devastated. Since then, Mozambique has enjoyed thirty years of uninterrupted economic growth, succeeding in creating an economic dynamism in Maputo, and by extension in Matola, its densely populated suburb, as well as in the country's major cities (Beira, Nampula...). Although not perfect in recent decades, the country's political stabilization has offered a healthier, more serene life to the population. The infant mortality rate has plummeted and life expectancy, while not peaking, has risen from 42 years in 1990 to over 61 years in 2023. Yet Mozambique remains one of the ten poorest countries in the world, ranking 185th with a GDP of US$ 500-600 per capita. The vast majority of the population lives below the US$2 a day poverty line, and the WFP has provided food aid to 400,000 refugees in Cabo Delgado. Malnutrition is currently affecting these populations and the north of the country in general, which has been battered by cyclones that have devastated harvests.
Predominantly Bantu peoples
Although the country is home to around a hundred different ethnic groups, the Bantu are in the majority at 97.8%. By the time the first Portuguese arrived in the 17th century, they had already been living here for over a thousand years. They had been preceded by aboriginal populations of herders and hunters. The Bantus, for their part, come from all over the world. They are thought to have arrived in Mozambique around 300 AD. Following the drying up of the Sahara, entire populations gathered in the extreme southern part of the desert and then gradually moved towards the equator. These peoples share the same origin and speak similar languages. The Bantu people are considered a linguistic rather than an ethnic group. Today, Mozambique has ten major ethnic groups descended from the Bantu. White Mozambicans, descendants of the Portuguese, are a very small minority, as are Western expatriates.
The Macua
The Macua are in the majority. This Bantu population from East Africa lives mainly in the north of the country. They are found mainly in the provinces of Zambézie, Nampula, Niassa and Cabo Delgado. They account for 40% of the total population. Partly Islamized, many of them are farmers who fiercely resisted the Portuguese conquest, but who have always remained hostile to the struggle led by Frelimo. Macua women can be recognized by the musiro beauty mask they wear on their faces. Macua society is matrilineal. The family is made up of the mother, her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and maternal descendants. Men and women are said to carry the same gene from a common maternal ancestor, and it is considered that only the woman can pass it on to her children. The husband's link to the wife's lineage is merely affective. A man can therefore marry women from different lineages without compromising matrilineal descent. In Macua society, there is no supremacy of women or government by women. Instead, married women enjoy great autonomy, respect and prestige. She is protected by her lineage; in the event of a problem, her elder brother must look after her children. In Islamized families on the coast, married life is theoretically regulated by the husband, but matrilineal traditions are deeply rooted in the culture, giving women a great deal of freedom. On the other hand, this freedom is not accepted by Muslims. Marriage is forbidden between members of the same clan, as well as between in-laws. Husbands and wives establish their domicile with the wife's mother or maternal uncle. Divorce is possible and frequent. Generally, the oldest spouses agree. If the wife has legitimate grievances, she may move in with another man. The woman is responsible for her children's education, work in the fields, household chores, water and wood. The man takes care of the hard work, hunting, fishing and trading. They were also the ones who would later work on the plantations, mines and other construction projects undertaken by the Portuguese.
The Tsonga
The Tsonga live in South Africa, Zimbabwe and southern Mozambique, where they are in the majority. They include the Rhonga, Shangane and Matsua peoples. The history of the Tsonga in the 19th century is marked by the Zulu invasion between 1815 and 1830, under the reign of Manukuse. Between the Limpopo Valley and the north of the Save River, many people refused to submit - Tsonga was synonymous with slave for the Zulus - and emigrated to the Transvaal in South Africa. When Manukuse died in 1856, a terrible war of succession broke out, leading to ten years of power struggles between his younger brother's supporters and those of his son. Muzila, the son, won out in the end. Portuguese intervention in tribal conflicts put an end to Zulu rule in 1895. The Zulus had a linguistic influence on the Tsongas. Even today, marriage takes place after payment of the lobolo (dowry). The economy and family life of the southern regions have been strongly influenced by migrant labor in South Africa. Today, a third of the Tsonga family lives outside the country.
The Makonde
The Makonde are also descendants of the Bantu peoples. They originated in the southern region of Lake Niassa. They are thought to have migrated northeastwards, settling today on the Mozambican side of the Mueda and Macomia plateaus, in the province of Cabo Delgado. In the far north, some 400,000 Makonde live on the plateaus. They live in isolation, in areas that are difficult to access. Animist and suspicious, they have always kept to themselves, defending their territory and imbued with a specific culture. Politically, they played an important role in the Frelimo struggle. The Makonde were born of a legend: African oral tradition beckons..
"Once upon a time, in the south of Tanzania, not far from the Rovuma river, there was a dense forest. In this forest, there was a man who never washed, drank or ate. One day, this man carved a human figure from the wood of an ebony tree. He then took it to where he lived. He placed the sculpture upright beside him. During the night, the figure came to life as a living woman. At dawn, they went down together to the banks of the Rovuma River to take their first bath. The woman gave birth to a stillborn child. For them, this land could only be cursed. So they settled further away, in a valley. But there too, a stillborn child was born. A land imbued with a curse... They walked on and returned to an area of dense, high-altitude forest called Mahuta. This time, the woman gave birth to a third child, alive and well. They went on to have many children, forming the Makondé family, also known as Vamakondé, meaning the first inhabitants. Thereafter, the descendants found themselves obliged to bury the dead standing up, in memory of the first mother who had awakened to life in this position. The father also warned his children not to live in valleys or near rivers, as these were disease-infested areas. It was better to settle at least an hour's distance from the water source. That way, children could grow up healthy and families could prosper This legend, collected in the early 20th century by Father Adams, helps to explain some of the features of Makonde life. It's easy to understand why this people chose to live in arid, high-altitude regions, far from water sources and therefore far from disease. Ancestor worship, particularly of the mother, is an integral part of daily life. Finally, the Makonde have always practiced sculpture as a form of worship, with the aim of reproducing the organization of their village. Carving was also used to decorate everyday objects such as household items, tools, containers, furniture and weapons. With colonization, this tradition also became a currency of exchange. Later, a few individuals took an interest in this material, which they had been working with since childhood, considering it more as an art form. According to specialists, the Makonde of Mozambique have played an important role in the development of contemporary sculpture.
Other peoples
The Nhanja are found in north-western Mozambique, notably in part of the Zambezi valley and Niassa province. The Caranga people live on the banks of the Save and Zambezi rivers, in the Sofala and Manica provinces. A few hundred Swahili live on the coast, having immigrated from the northern regions of Tanzania and Kenya, particularly in the Zambezi valley where there has been considerable mixing. They are mostly farmers. They account for 15% of the population. Further south, we find the Shona, who belong to the plateau civilizations of Zimbabwe. Many contributed to the anti-Frelimo guerrilla war in the 1980s. To the south and west of Inhambane, the Chope and Bitonga make up 5% of the population. Then, as you descend towards Maputo, the influence of the West increases.
