Africa-Press – Mozambique. The traditional Mozambican Mapiko dance was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Tuesday, the UN agency announced on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The inscription of the dance was voted on at the 18th session of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, which is taking place in Kasane, Botswana.
Mapiko, or Ingoma ya Mapiko, as used by the community that practises it, originally takes place on the Makonde plateau comprising the districts of Muenda, Nangade and Muidumbe, in the province of Cabo Delgado, in northern Mozambique.
In the application process presented by the Mozambican Ministry of Culture and Tourism, it is emphasised that Mapiko practitioners are the second largest Shimakonde ethnolinguistic group after the Macuas.
The urgency invoked has to do with Islamic fundamentalist activities in Cabo Delgado, “which forced the suspension of Mapiko festivals due to the flight and dispersal of the population,” reads the application process.
“The aim is to improve the safeguarding strategy in the face of the risk of extinction due to the war of terrorism and to sensitise young people to the importance of the Makonde identity in respect for human beings. In the future, we hope that its recognition will strengthen social and territorial cohesion between the different peoples that make up the ethnic mosaic of Cabo Delgado if not of Mozambique and the world,” emphasises the Mozambican Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Read below the full announcement by UNESCO on Tuesday.
Ingoma Ya Mapiko
Inscribed in 2023 (18.COM) on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding
The mapiko dance is a celebratory dance practiced by the Makonde people of Mozambique. A part of the traditional rite of passage from puberty to adulthood, the dance is performed in an enclosure, usually under mango trees, with dancers, musicians and the public coming together to celebrate the initiation rite.
The dance may also be performed for the funeral of a group member or for entertainment. It is a theatrical performance involving several dancers who perform alone or as a group, wearing masks that represent animals or people. They are accompanied by drums and a choir of women and men standing opposite each other. In between the dances, the choir also dances and sings provocative songs, challenging and provoking the masked men and people from neighbouring villages.
The mapiko dance is transmitted during initiation rites. It symbolizes human spirit, harmony with the cosmos, and the fight between good and evil, and is viewed as a means of overcoming fear. It also seeks to restore a balance between the masculine and the feminine.
For the practising communities, mapiko is a means of transmitting ancestral values, beliefs and customs and of helping youth familiarize themselves with the transformations of their bodies as they reach maturity.
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
