Mozambican society has traditionally revolved around the family and the village, with customs and observances that grow from local rather than national influences. Many of its traditional values came under attack during the years of civil strife, for, despite Frelimo’s emphasis on pride in African cultural heritage, its ideology of scientific materialism clashed sharply with important components of traditional Mozambican culture. Aspects of that culture, including spirituality, herbal healing, rites of passage, direct criticism of leadership through poetic performance, and lineage authority, conflicted with government efforts to reorder society along socialist lines and to define national culture through government control of the media. Frelimo opposed such traditional practices as polygamy and various initiation rites as well as regulos, chiefs who were put into positions of power by the colonial government. By the end of the 1990s the government had stopped its campaigns against polygamy and initiation rites, implicitly recognizing that such social customs were difficult, if not impossible, to legislate. Regulos and other local authorities came to have a larger role in governance.

The daily food staple of most Mozambicans is either cassava (manioc), which is cooked and pounded into a soft mound and served with a sauce, or massa, a cornmeal porridge that is similarly served with a sauce. A common sauce called matapa is made from cooking cassava leaves or other greens with ground peanuts or shredded coconut, usually in coconut milk; sometimes shrimp or meat may be added, and there are many local variations. Rice is also the basis of many meals and is often served with beans. Indian influence is seen in the wide varieties of rice pilaf (pilau), where rice is cooked with chopped vegetables or meat, and in the use of curry (caril) as both a flavoring and as a style of cooking. A chili pepper sauce or marinade called piri-piri is a key ingredient in one of the country’s best-known dishes, chicken piri-piri, also called frango á zambeziana. Prawns are found in the Mozambique Channel and are a well-known feature of Mozambican cuisine, usually served grilled and often with piri-piri. Portuguese taste has also had an impact, evident in the presence of coffee shops in the urban areas. Local fruit such as mango, papaya, and citruses are widely available.

The arts

Mozambique has produced some of Africa’s most important writers and artists. From the early 20th century, African writers and journalists published their own newspaper in Maputo—O Africano, later O Brado Africano—which, despite colonial censorship, provided a forum for African intellectuals and writers for many decades. Writers used Portuguese to convey the experience of the colonized and to confirm the validity of African cultural expression. Some of Frelimo’s leading figures, including Marcelino dos Santos and Sérgio Vieira, wrote poetry and encouraged poetic expression as a form of resistance. One of Africa’s best-known poets is José Craveirinha, whose collections of poetry include Chigubo (1964) and Karingana ua karingana (1974; “Once upon a Time”). Other writers in Portuguese include Luís Bernardo Honwana, Mia Couto, Lina Magaia, and Orlando Mendes. Bento Sitoe, the author of Zabela (1983), among other works, used Tsonga as the language of his writings. Since the 1990s new authors have emerged who address women’s experiences in Mozambican society, including Paulina Chiziane and Lília Momplé, whose novel Neighbours (1995) was later published in English as Neighbours: The Story of a Murder (2001).

Mozambique’s small film industry is represented by directors such as Jose Cardoso (Vento sopra do norte [1987; “The Wind Blows from the North”]) and Licino Azevedo (A arvore dos antepassados [1995; “Tree of the Ancestors”]). The country’s best-known film export is Solveig Nordlund’s Comédia infantil (1998; “Nelio’s Story”), a Portuguese, Swedish, and Mozambican coproduction.

The painter Malangatana Valente Ngwenya, commonly known as Malangatana, has gained an international following, as has the sculptor Alberto Chissano. Malangatana and the muralist Mankew Valente Muhumana have inspired the formation of artist cooperatives, particularly around Maputo; among the most prominent of these is the Nucleo de Arte, which operates a gallery and offers workshops throughout the year.

Mozambican popular music combines Western and African influences and includes the work of Alexandre Langa, Xidimingwana, and the Nampula group Eyuphuro. A popular style of music in Mozambique is marrabenta, which originated in the 1950s and was first performed on homemade guitars constructed from oil or gasoline cans and fishing line. The style’s lyrics are often political, though subtly so, and the associated dance is widely performed throughout the country. It developed during the colonial period as a way to criticize the government in a manner that would be nonthreatening and is a common musical form in other African societies. The Portuguese fado style, featuring mournful ballads usually sung by women, is also popular. The xylophone orchestral ensemble, common among the Chopi people, is one of the country’s best-known musical traditions. The National Song and Dance Company, headquartered in Maputo, offers programs drawing from the country’s many musical traditions.