Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo.
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel, the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale, whether pentatonic or heptatonic in the case of many African and Asian instruments, diatonic in many western children's instruments, or chromatic for orchestral use.
Inhambane is a province of Mozambique located on the coast in the southern part of the country. It has an area of 68,615 km2 and a population of 1,488,676. The provincial capital is also called Inhambane.
José Craveirinha was a Mozambican journalist, story writer and poet, who is today considered the greatest poet of Mozambique. His poems, written in Portuguese, address such issues as racism and the Portuguese colonial domination of Mozambique. A supporter of the anti-Portuguese group FRELIMO during the colonial wars, he was imprisoned in the 1960s. He was one of the African pioneers of the Négritude movement, and published six books of poetry between 1964 and 1997. Craveirinha also wrote under the pseudonyms Mário Vieira, José Cravo, Jesuíno Cravo, J. Cravo, J.C., Abílio Cossa, and José G. Vetrinha.
Marrabenta is a popular style of Mozambican dance music combining traditional Mozambican dance rhythms with Portuguese folk music. It was developed in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique, during the 1930s and 1940s.
Ghorwane is a Mozambican marrabenta musical band who have primarily use guitars saxophones and percussion instrument. It was founded in 1983. The band derived its name from the lake of the same name in the province of Gaza. This name was given by President Samora Machel during a festival to celebrate the ten years of independence in 1985. Samora has declared that "It's prohibited to lie in the People's Republic of Mozambique" and cites Ghorwane as an example. Ghorwane is the Shangaan term for "Good Boys". Their style is a combination of traditional Mozambique music, Afropop, and fusion. Ghorwane's music is sung in local languages, including Shangaan, Ronga and Chope. The band's composer and saxophonist, Jose "Zeca" Alage, was murdered in 1993. Their 2005 album VANA VA NDOTA was dedicated to Zeca Alage (1959–1993) and Pedro Langa (1959–2001).
In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, the use of music is not limited to entertainment: it serves a purpose to the local community and helps in the conduct of daily routines. Traditional African music supplies appropriate music and dance for work and for religious ceremonies of birth, naming, rites of passage, marriage and funerals. The beats and sounds of the drum are used in communication as well as in cultural expression.
Mozambique is a multilingual country. A number of Bantu languages are indigenous to Mozambique. Portuguese, inherited from the colonial period, is the official language, and Mozambique is a full member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. Ethnologue lists 43 languages spoken in the country.
The Chopi are an ethnic group of Mozambique. They have lived primarily in the Zavala region of southern Mozambique, in the Inhambane Province. They traditionally lived a life of subsistence agriculture, traditionally living a rural existence, although many were displaced or killed in the civil war that followed Mozambique's liberation from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975. In addition, drought forced many away from their homeland and into the nation's cities.
The culture of Mozambique is in large part derived from its history of Bantu, Swahili, and Portuguese rule, and has expanded since independence in 1975. The majority of its inhabitants are black Africans. Its main language is Portuguese. Its median religion is Roman Catholicism, but only about 40% of the inhabitants are Christian. It has a rich history in the areas of arts, cuisine, and entertainment.
The xibelani dance is an indigenous dance of the Tsonga women of the Limpopo province in northern South Africa. The name of the dance comes from the native Xitsonga language and it can translate to "hitting to the rhythm", for example, the concept "xi Bela ni vunanga". The name "xibelani" typically refers to the dance style while the skirt itself is referred to as "tinguvu", however, the term "xibelani" is sometimes used to refer to both the dance and the skirt.
Neyma Julio Alfredo is a Mozambican singer. She is known for producing songs of the Mozambican genre, such as Marrabenta and Kizomba.
The sport of football in the country of Mozambique is run by the Mozambican Football Federation. The association administers the national football team, as well as the national league. Football is the most popular sport in the country.
Humberto Carlos Benfica, known as Wazimbo, is a Mozambican vocalist considered one of the greatest voices of Mozambique and one of the most famous marrabenta singers. Born in Chibuto, in Gaza Province, Mozambique he moved to the capital — Lourenço Marques — where he grew up in the popular neighborhood Mafalala. There he started as a vocal member for the local group "Silverstars" and then "Geiziers". Later, he joined Orchestra Marrabenta Star de Moçambique.
Stewart Sukuma, born Luis Pereira in 1963, is a Mozambican singer. Sukuma's stage name means "rise up" in Xitsonga and "push" in Swahili. He was born in Cuamba, Niassa Province. Coming from a modest family, Sukuma loved music; he moved to the Mozambican capital of Maputo in 1977, learning to play percussion instruments, guitar and piano. Five years later, Sukuma joined a musical group as a vocalist. He received a Ngoma Mozambique award in 1983, and has been described as "Mozambique's most popular male vocalist". Sukuma's songs include "Felizminha", "Xitchuketa Marrabenta", "Sumanga", "Male" and "Why". He sings in Portuguese, English, Swahili, Echwabo and Xitsonga.
Elisa Domingas Jamisse, better known by her stage name Mingas, is a Mozambican singer. Born in the capital city, Maputo in Mozambique Mingas started to sing at a very early age. Her music is a mixture of Afro sounds that gives prominence to the rhythms of the Chope people of southern Mozambique, and she is one of the most famous singers of Marrabenta. Her career is marked with big hits and collaborations with major African singers like Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Angélique Kidjo, Baba Maal, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Jimmy Dludlu, Gilberto Gil, among others.
Marrabenta Stories is a 2004 documentary film directed by Karen Boswall. A musical documentary, it covers Marrabenta, the national music of Mozambique.
Brazil–Mozambique relations are the bilateral relations between Brazil and Mozambique. Both nations are members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, Group of 77 and the United Nations.
Marjurugenta is the debut album by Mozambican marrabenta band Ghorwane, recorded in August 1991 at Real World Studios but not released until September 1993 by Real World Records. The band had built up a reputation in their native country throughout the 1980s for their unique urban dance musical style and politically conscious lyrics, pulling from genres such as marrabenta and xigubu. After being denied visas to play at a European festival in 1987, it soon became possible for the band to play the world music-celebrating WOMAD festival in 1990. While on their trip to the festival, the band were approached by the WOMAD-affiliated Real World Records to record their debut album.
Edson Amândio Maria Lopes da Luz, better known by his stage name Azagaia, was a Mozambican rapper known for his songs about political issues and social justice in Mozambique. In 2014, he was described as "the most influential Mozambican rapper", and his death in 2023 led to widespread marches throughout the country in his honour as well as in support of his political ideas.
