From the bush to the stage: nation building in Mozambique through music

Abstract

This article discusses the first National Festival of Traditional Music and Song (1980-1981) in Mozambique. It regards this festival as the most important initiative promoted by the Frelimo government (Frente de Libertação de Moçambique) as part of its nation-building project during the first years after the country's independence in the musical field. After describing and analyzing the programming of this festival, I will recover the heated debate promoted by the mainstream press about dilemmas involved in its organization and about the classification of "traditional music". On the stages built in the capital, Maputo, people from the various provinces of the country came to be known as artists, a denomination acquired when they were urged to abandon their "tribal" ties. I argue that, despite the various political transformations that the country has undergone in recent decades, especially after the end of the civil war (1976/1977-1992), the National Festival of Song and Traditional Music has remained a paradigm. From the 2000s onwards, the holding of cultural festivals continues to be a central strategy for building national unity.