Os Makonde e a construção do território e da identidade em Moçambique.

Abstract

The thesis "The Makonde and the Construction of Territory and Identity in Mozambique" discusses the social construction of the territory, the identities of the group called Makonde de Moçambique, inhabitants of the Mueda Plateau in the Province of Cabo Delgado, from the analysis of the products (sculptures, woodcuts and Mapiko dance masks), in their interfaces with the history of Portuguese Colonization and the Independence of Mozambique. To do so, we cut the elements from the 1960s to the contemporary moment. The objective was to understand the mediating dynamics articulated for the construction of the Makonde group identity, having a territorial base articulated to the production of the objects that were taken as art, in such a way that this identity is interpreted from the contexts of the colonial struggles for independence , and was charged with expressing an art and national identity. The research was based on the socio-anthropological foundations and focused on the observation and interview with fifteen (15) artists participating in associations of local handicraft production, as social subjects with the identity of creators of cultural and artistic products. From the theoretical debate on the social construction of territories and cultural identities, we proceeded to the empirical work in Mueda and participated in participant observation, preparation and analysis of field diaries, semi-structured interviews, from a non-random sample. We consider that the geographic location, the historical elements throughout the colonial process and the social characteristics, made the Makonde an example that was projected as an idea of the construction of a young independent nation in Africa.