WRITTEN NARRATIVES ABOUT MAFALALA TUFO GROUP

Abstract

In this article, we present research results of the project “Narratives of Mafalala Tufo” that is part of the major project “Linguistic and cultural diversity in oral and written narratives as a vector of sustainable development of traditional communities in Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Mozambique.”

Our object of study is written narratives about Mafalala Tufo, a cultural and community grouping in a suburb of the Maputo capital city, in southern Mozambique. The group members are originally from the Macua ethnic group located in the northern province of Nampula.

 The research questions are: 1) What types of narratives are written about Mafalala Tufo? 2) What are the main objectives of these narratives? 3) What information is privileged in these narratives?

We begin by presenting a brief review of studies on Tufo dance (Machado, 1970; Lutero and Pereira, 1980; Silva, 2016; Cachat 2018) describing the origin, practice, and expansion of Tufo dance in Mozambique as well as the themes addressed in the songs that accompany the dance, the forerunner instruments, and the evolution over time. Next, we describe the methodology of document analysis, that is, analysis of written narratives about the cultural grouping that constitutes the object of this research. Finally, we present the conclusions and recommendations for future research.