Africa-Press – Angola. The Mwana Pwo mask and the figure of Otchinganji are the main attractions for dozens of tourists who visit the Huambo Regional Museum on a daily basis, said Thursday its manager, Festo Sapalo.
The official, who was speaking at the provincial act commemorating the International Museums Day, which is celebrated, explained that the Mwana Pwo mask represents an ancestral and mature character that enhances the feminine beauty of the Cokwe people who inhabit, mostly, the eastern region of Angola .
As for the Otchinganji, he said it was a symbol of the ancient mythical culture of the Ovimbundu tradition.
Festo Sapalo informed that, despite being operating in one of the rooms of the Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports office, due to the requalification of the main building, the Regional Museum of Huambo receives, on average, 15 to 20 visitors, in its most students from all educational subsystems.
According to the official, in addition to these two figures, the museological deer preserves close to a thousand objects of various sculptures, from artefacts, hunting tools, pieces and others, which represent the habits and customs of this region of the country.
He said he said that, currently, the challenge is to sculpt a symbolic portrait representing the kingdoms of Bailundo, Chingonjo, Chiyaca, Sambo and Huambo, with a view to illustrating the governing system, in line with the traditions and cultural values of the Ovimbundu people.
In turn, the head of the department for Culture, Heritage and Traditional Authorities in the province of Huambo, Isaura Ginga Raúl, announced for next July the resumption of the requalification of the museum, started in 2017, but interrupted in 2020 due to Covid-19.
Without going into details, he said that the works aim to adjust the enterprise to international standards.
The Huambo Museum, designed in 1946, was inaugurated on August 11, 1957 and currently has close to a thousand objects of various sculptures, from hunting, fishing, iron casting that represent the uses and customs of the region, in addition to a thousand 413 photographs, which portray civil, military, religious and funerary architecture, from the foundation of the city of Huambo in 1912, until 1974.
International Museum Day was created in 1977, through the initiative of the International Council of Museums, a body that integrates the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The date celebration aims to draw the attention of society and the public to the importance of museums in preserving the history and culture of humanity.
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