Mozambique
Mozambique – a former Portuguese colony on the east coast of Africa – is rapidly recovering from long years of internal warfare. Of particular interest to the BLAC FOUNDATION are the many ethnic groupings that constitute the nation, particularly the Macoa people of the north (with their martial art tradition), the Makonde artists of the Cabo Delgado in the north-east, the Ndau (with their mbiramusic traditions), the Niassa people of the north-western region (known for their musical talent employing wind instruments made from dried and hollowed calabashes), and the Shangani people of Gazaland in the south. For more about Mozambique see Dr. Powe’s The Lore of Africa, Part I: Three Northern Nguni Nations (Zulu, Swazi, & Ndebele).
In Maputo, the BLAC Foundation has established collaborative relations with the Associação Cultural Nkhoswe, an organization whose major objective is to preserve and promote traditional Mozambican musical instruments (mbira, nyanga, kancubwa, etc.), music, and dance. For more information about Nkhoswe visit their site at www.nkhoswe.org.
