Mafalala is a “living museum” of Mozambican culture.

Mafalala, is the most famous neighborhood in Maputo, a place enshrined in tourist guides as the cradle of Mozambique's post-independence culture.

It’s “right there” around a corner, where the horizon disappears and Portuguese colonial buildings and “modern” apartment buildings from the mid-XNUMXth century give way to a labyrinth of potholed alleys dotted with shacks with thatched roofs. zinc.

But as in any troubled neighborhood, situated in one of the world's poorest countries, residents struggle to capitalize on their community's heritage. Most young people in Mafalala survive on a day-to-day basis, depending on informal work, unable to fully explore their creativity.

The beginning

A few years ago, a group of students and professionals in the area, through the Iverca Association, decided to change this “reality” and created a museum to preserve the history and culture of the neighborhood. O Mafalala Museum, was installed in a building with an unusual mustard-yellow color that makes it stand out among a sea of ​​zinc sheet roofs.

“We often say that Mafalala is the capital of Maputo because it is the heart and soul of the city”.

“There is something special about Mafalala and that is why this is a historic place. In reality, it is a neighborhood that is a true living museum”, said Ivan Laranjeira, director of the Museum of Mafalala.

Laranjeira, did not make this statement devoid of reality since, despite being one of the poorest neighborhoods in Maputo, it produced two Mozambican presidents, Samora Machel and Joaquim Chissano, the legendary footballer Eusébio da Silva Ferreira and the poet José Craveirinha.

The museum

Among the various pieces, a viola made by hand from a tin box, with strings made from bicycle spokes, stands out. Before going to the museum, it was used by singers of “Marrabenta”, a national folk dance genre.

There are traditional costumes, as well as a rag soccer ball like Eusébio's, which catapulted Portugal's national team to world fame in the 1960s.

But it's not just the collectibles on display that matter in the museum. The museum itself is also a cultural education center for the neighborhood's youth.

mafalala

Since the XNUMXth century, the Mafalala neighborhood has attracted workers from rural Mozambique who, due to cheap rents and being close to the city center, go there, therefore better located to find work.

It is one of the oldest suburbs of the capital, located in the center-west, the neighborhood arises because its residents were "pushed" to the place by the settlers, as they occupied cooler and higher places.

The older inhabitants of the neighborhood are known as Matlotlomana, or ku-tlotloma which means “to win a woman” in the local language, Ronga. The place that today is the headquarters of the neighborhood, was once the market and one of the places where some canteens worked. It also served as a place where the Matlotlomanas “found” women who were controlled by the canteen owners.

With 30 of the languages ​​of Mozambique spoken there, and practically all the ethnic groups represented there, the neighborhood is a center of cultural diversity, where canteens live side by side with mosques and evangelical churches.

In the center of the neighborhood, built of wood and zinc, is the centenary “Baraza” mosque. It was the first to be built by the Comorians in Mafalala. The term “Baraza”, in Swahili, means “place of conviviality, meeting or concentration”.

Signs stuck in the dusty streets list some of the local attractions. Machel's house, Eusébio's birthplace and a tribute to Craveirinha's poetry, capturing the spirit of the place. But unfortunately, many of the houses of famous personalities in the neighborhood have fallen into disrepair, or are now occupied by new residents.

Throughout Mafalala we can appreciate walls covered with colorful murals and tourists, although rare, are always welcome to the neighborhood, where they can stroll through the alleys and taste the local cuisine.

It was in the alleys of Mafalala that the revolutionary spirits against the Portuguese colonizers arose and nurtured, culminating in a decade-long war that paved the way for independence in 1975.

Since then, revolutionaries have led the country, but the euphoria of liberation has died down. Now, young players, barefoot, kick balls in the sand, in front of an imposing image of Eusébio.

What do you think of this neighborhood of Maputo? Following the example of Mafalala, should other museums also be built in historic sites? We want to know your opinion, do not hesitate to comment and if you liked the article, share and give a “like/like”.

Picture: © 2022 Mafalala Museum