Mozambique: History, Culture, Religion, and Food

Category: Travel

Like other colonies, Mozambique’s history is also written in a way that it began with the arrival of the Portuguese, but there is much to the country before that period. Various complex communities developed in this region based on agriculture, mining, cattle raising, crafts, and trade centuries before the arrival of Portuguese Settlers in the 16th century. Tourists visit from all over the world to explore the history, culture, food, and religion of Mozambique. 1.Ethnic Groups Just like any other country in Africa, you will find ethnically diverse people that reflect the country’s colonial history in Mozambique also. When the Portuguese came to this country in 1961, they created some ethnic groups like Makua-Lomwe. Along with this, you will find other classifications including Tsonfa, Ndau, Sena, Chewa, Chopi, Makonde, Yao, and Ngoni. The benefit of booking a tour package from the best corporate travel company in Mozambique is that they structure the trip in a way where you can meet and talk to locals without any time boundary. 2.Languages Portuguese is the official language of the land but only a fraction of the population considers it the main language. Around two-fifths of the inhabitants of the country speak it as a lingua franca. You will find the Portuguese-speaking population primarily in the capital of Maputo and other urban centres. People often speak languages from the Niger-Congo language group, basically the Bantu branch. In this group, Lomwe, Makua, Sena, Tsonga, Shona, and Chuabo is the most widely spoken. You will find wide linguistic and cultural diversity in Mozambique because it shares languages with surrounding countries; for example, Yao with Tanzania and Malawi, and Swahili with East African countries. The Group of people speaking Asian and European languages is largely limited to the port cities of Beira, Maputo, Nacala, Quelimane, and Pemba. 3.Religion Before the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975, a large chunk of the population, almost one-third of people were nominally Christian will a small number of Muslims. After Independence, religious expression was discouraged for a brief period of time (persecution of more than 20,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses). However, the government changed its approach by the end of the 1980s and things went back to normal. About half of the population practices Christianity, and less than one-fifth adheres to Muslim customs and religious practices. The Islamic communities are widely seen in the cities only, Muslims are found in the majority population of the northern coastal region between Rovuma and Lurio. Almost one-fifth of Mozambique’s population claims no religious affiliation. 4.Cultural Life Being a neighbour of Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe, this country exhibits a wide variety of cultural and linguistic diversity. One can witness the common theme of dynamic and creative cultural expression in dance, song, oral poetry, and performance even after having a variety of languages, artistic expressions, social traditions, clothing, and embellishment patterns. You can explore the most artistic tradition of the people of Mozambique in form of carved wooden sculptures and mapiko initiation masks. 5.Food Mozambicans usually take cassava (manioc) or Massa as their daily food staple. Among them, cassava is cooked and turned into a soft mound for serving with a sauce, while Massa is a cornmeal porridge that is also served with a sauce. Matapa is a common sauce you will find in several dishes; this sauce is prepared by mixing shredded coconut or ground peanuts with cassava leaves or other green leaves and cooking it usually in coconut milk. Sometimes, they add shrimp or meat to the sauce, there are multiple local variations of matapa. Top corporate travel management companies in Mozambique often offer local food items in the meal. Rice is another basic item you will find in the local meals and they are often served along with beans. You will notice Indian influence in the varieties of rice pilaf (pilau) where one can put vegetables or meat in the rice while cooking. Another item you are likely to find in the local dishes is chilli pepper sauce, popularly known as Piri-Piri. Prawns are also part of the Mozambican cuisine found in the Mozambique Channel. The coffee shops in the Urban regions are a clear indication of how Portuguese taste has influenced Mozambique’s food culture.