mozambique and slavery

8/12/2019 Mozambique and Slavery

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The modern history of Mozambique is similar to many other countries in Africa.

Mozambique has an illustrious past and culture that has been marked by its first

encounter with European settlers at the dawn of colonization.The second arrival of the

Portuguese in the late !""s ignited already present animosity into mobilized opposition

of colonial the rule.This is considered to be a starting point in Mozambique#s

independence movement of the twentieth century $Munslow %&.'olonial rule in

Mozambique was based around theprazo system(which sub)ugated workers to a feudal*

like structure that placed the Portuguese landowners in the higher echelons(with

Mozambicans representing the lower functions.+ub)ugated individuals e,pressed their

disdain and collective frustration towards the oppressive regime through various

manners(one of which was song $-! /ail and 0hite !!%&.Although these plantations

songs would not be considered popular culture because they were not characterized by

mass production(communication and consumption(they were still able to have a

meaningful and long*lasting impact on large numbers of people $1abian !&.2owever(

these songs were influential precisely because they shared common elements that (

according to 3ichols(are inherent to popular culture4 they resonated with life at its worst

as they reflected the struggles and the vulgarity of every day life .5n addition(they related

a collective reality which was(in this particular case(the unwillingness to accept

sub)ugation in silence $%!&.


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Resounding with Life:Plantation Songs

Plantation songs surfaced as a means of e,pressing the collective struggle and the

vulgarity of life under Portuguese colonial rule. Many populist scholars believe that

large*scale cultural activities are indeed influential as they present difficult realities in the

hopes that such actualities will one day become history $3gugi &.Mozambican

plantation songs tell us of such struggles which surfaced at a certain(relevant moment in

Mozambique#s history.

Historical Context

0hen the Portuguese reappeared in the area surrounding the 6ambezi 7iver in the

late !""s(so as not to be left out of the 8scramble for Africa(9 they brought with them

theEstado Navoideology which stressed the importance of civilizing the tribal peoples (

specifically through forced labour $Munslow !&.The militant state of Portugal used a

feudal*like system to divide up the land intoprazoswhich were plots of land that

indigenous inhabitants of the land were forced to cultivate under the watchful eye of the

prazeros or colonial masters $5saacman :&.Those working on theprazos would receive

minimal wages and would be forced to pay heavy ta,es every three months to the

colonial ta, collector $-! /ail and 0hite !!!&.Those who were not chosen to work in

prazos or traded as slaves were placed in ivory and gold mines where long hours(

dangerous conditions and low wages awaited them $5saacman ;:&.The people of this

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region(after hundreds of years of contact with the European colonizers(did not accept

these realities without opposition.They engaged in various forms of opposition including

violence towards Portuguese police(evasion of ta, payment(social banditry and

vandalism of the colonial estates $5saacman and 5saacman "&.2owever(these actions

were punished with harsh consequences and were thus not the most effective means of

e,pressing disapproval of daily realities created by the colonial government.+ongs(on

the other hand(were sung in local languages and were therefore more covert but still vital

ways of demonstrating dissatisfaction with the brutality of every day life.

Echoes of Everyday Life

+amora Machel(a former Mozambican president(e,presses that 8colonialism and

imperialism made Mozambicans know the brutal face of aggression(e,ploitation and

oppression9 $%&.Machel also states that although colonialism attempted to divide the

people(their collective struggle $often e,pression through song& kept them together $


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body $5saacman and 5saacman ?&.0ith the beginning of the slave trade(it became

evident that the bodies of African people were regarded as ob)ects that could be e,ploited

as a means of obtaining wealth and many people @ not only workers on a particular

plantation @ could identify with the lyrics of the aforementioned song. 5n addition(the

song speaks of the fact that the workers who were under colonial rule and had lost control

over their own bodies which were at the disposal of powerful colonizers .This is perhaps

why the song is still taught to children today $5bid&.

Paiva Song and the Vulgarity of Life

5n an article written by /ail and 0hite(we find a discussion based on the origins

of thePaiva song(a well*known composition with many variants and allegedly sung in

Mozambique since the late nineteenth century $-%! /ail and 0hite ::&.Paiva,the

surname of a Portuguese merchant family which owned the sugar company known as the

+ena +ugar Estates near the lower 6ambesi 7iver(was not only used to refer to the

individuals belonging to that family $especially osB de Paiva 7aposo& but also to the

deprivation(inequality(poverty and hardships of every day life $5bid :


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that were sung by women were accompanied by a dance and became so widespread that

they are still performed in various villages today $-%! /ail and 0hite :!& ./itality(

according to 3ichols(is a product of any popular cultural good that reflects human

e,perience $%!&.These songs were therefore prevalent because they reflected a common

e,perience of women working in plantations.

Men also e,pressed their contempt for the unfair treatment that they incessantly

encountered through various plantation songs.5t was common for men to sing verses that

e,pressed anger as a result of working long hours without receiving any or little

compensation $-! /ail and 0hite&.5n this twelve*minute song that is divided between

men and which so that there is almost a dialogue between the two parties (the resentment

that men held towards Paiva is made clear4

Ngaala dinyero ache !fter everything,you cant seen"a#e "uyiona tai your oney at all

Ndia zi$iri zanyan"$ira %$o $hole tas"s of earthing&up

'oto"a "oto"a ntu #asiyale People "noc"ing off,"noc"ing off at suppertie'oto"a na idiya ya asi"u 'noc"ing off in the iddle of the

night

Ngaala tepo yache n"a#e !fter everything,you cant see"uyiona tai your tie at all

Paiva()pi"a chita Paiva Paiva,thats $hat Paiva did(

$/ail and 0hite :%&

3ot only are these verses a reflection of every day life or of an every day e,perience that

is the discontentment with toiling when the reaping is so minimal(it also encompasses

the vulgarity of daily life.As mentioned previously(3ichols states that this vulgarity

resonates with life at its worse and reflects a reality that most people can relate with $%!& .

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5t also a means of verbalizing an anger that surfaces as a result of in)ustices and in this

case(the fact that the labourers were hard at work for hours on end while their overseer

did nothing all day long. This may facilitate an e,planation for the popularity of the

plantation song as an abundance of people was sub)ected to the same hardships and as a

result(e,perienced the same emotions.

According to /ail and 0hite(the Paiva song permitted e,ploitation a field in

which to be articulated $:?&.1abian e,presses that this articulation $without reflection& of

an emotion or an event through song(i.e.8lyrical complaint(9 or through any form of

popular culture is what distinguishes popular $low& culture from elite $high& culture(

which essentially e,plains or necessitates a reflection of the matter at hand $;:&.0e can

conclude(therefore(that plantations songs share common elements with popular culture

as well as with elite culture although it does not fall entirely in either category but rather

into its own(8folklore9 $1abian !&.The plantation workers voiced their anger towards

e,ploitative practices like the law which stated that all workers were to pay ta,es @ to be

paid out of their already e,tremely low wages and also with produce @ quarterly $-!

/ail and 0hite !!!&.Ta, evasion was common when the local people knew the penalties

would not be carried out by the 8headman9 but in plantation systems(which were highly

monitored and regulated(this was not possibleF as a result(frustrations towards this unfair

ta,ation system was e,pressed through songs $5saacman "&.The following is a verse

from a song that speaks towards the head ta, and the consequences if one should choose

to not comply4

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%he headan & ay & ay & ay * ay

%he headan harassed and seized one of y sons for Lua#o,

%he other $ent to Sao %hoe and never returned( + going to #ury the headan and #uild y house on his head-

%he headan & ay & ay & ay * ay

$-! /ail and 0hite !-;&

This verse relates the punishment for not paying the head ta,4the seizing of one or more

of the plantation worker#s children with the possibility of never having them returned.

Thus the song is not only an articulation of an event(but also a manifestation of the

frustration and fury caused by the event(hence the desire to eradicate the ta, collector

and build a habitation on his cadaver.The verse alludes to an impossibility(which is the

assassination of the headman(and consequently(we can state that contains another

element of popular culture4a 8convenient distraction9 from every day life and thus(a

space for escapism $1abian ;?&.

Escapis

As the harsh reality of the vulgarity that plantation workers faced in their daily

lives was too much to bear in silence(they created these particularly appealing songs in

which they could behave in a nonrealistic way48>ou can do it= you can do it= >ou can

find the chief and beat him up=you can do it= Dut the chief is a powerful manG9 $-! /ail

and 0hite !-


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overseers would smile when the workers began to sing their songs of protest because they

could not understand the language and believed the singing to be a verification of the

pacification of the workers $-! /ail and 0hite !!!&.The insulting of a field manager

outside the song(however(was not at option $5bid&.1abian also discusses the fact that the

ruling state would normally endorse any cultural form that provided a kind of escapism as

it distracted those subordinated from lashing out violently $;?&.Therefore an e,planation

for the popularity of these songs is the fact that they provide oppressed peoples a space

where they could escape from the oppressors and reprimand them for all the wrongs that

they had committed.

Plantation Songs.! /or of Leisure

Plantation songs not only served the function of keeping labourers occupied while

working but also providing for them a means of entertainment during spare moments.

Ceisure time is essential when engaging not only in popular culture but also in the

traditional as this is when genres that are termed as entertainment $which are arguably of

value as they speak of matters of great concern for those who both produce and consume

them& are consumed $Darber ;&. Many of these rhythmic(lively songs @ which ranged

from beginning at twelve minutes to half an hour @ were elaborated and were sung in

accompaniment of dances or even in theatrical*type performances $-%! /ail and 0hite

:%&. 5n various versions of thePaivasong for instance(the lead singer would be dressed

for dancing in a traditional grass skirt and would be )oined by two drummers and by

women with rattles who shook them to a particular rhythm $:?&. 5n another version of the

Paivasong(women placed themselves in a circle and individual dancers would dance

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into the circle with their eyes fi,ed to the ground $:%& . The songs ostracized plantation

overseers as they ridiculed everything from their walk to their mannerisms(in addition to

their way of speaking for the sake of entertainment $-! /ail and 0hite !!!& .Therefore

the songs were not only a means of e,pressing discontent but also a species of art or

entertainment that could thoroughly by en)oyed by the audience during their leisure time.

Conclusion

Plantation songs(although not a form of popular culture because they were not

produced and consumed by masses nor were they communicated on a large*scale(were

able to have a vast and lasting impression on Mozambican society precisely because they

characterized by other common features related to popular culture.These features include

the fact that they related a collective struggle and a general condemnation of the various

conditions that there were faced with in a plantation society.5n addition(plantation

workers and local people in general had the capability to consume these songs without

fear of consequence and so they sub)ected to being a form of underground culture but

rather(current culture.1inally(these songs were entertaining and were accompanied with

dances(drums(role*playing(etc.(and could therefore be an en)oyable aspect of leisure

time.3ot only were these songs vehicles of articulation of a common struggle(but they

also provided a space in which people could contemplate and reflect on daily realities.5n

this way(we witness what Darber refers to as the 8distinction between Hfolk=traditional#(

Hpopular#(and Hmass# culture and the ambiguity of each category in the sense that they

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have more in common than what elitists would concur $


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1abian( ohannes. Popular 'ulture in Africa4 1indings and 'on)ectures. $-%!& InK.Barber (Ed.)Readings in African Popular Culture(. !"!#!"$). London:

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5saacman( Allen and Darbara 5saacman. Mozambique4 1rom 'olonialism to 7evolution(

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Machel( +amora. Mozambique4 +owing the +eeds of a 7evolution. 2arare4 6imbabwe

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(. !"!#!"$). London: International %frican Institute& !''$

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