O PAPEL CULTURAL DA DANÇA NYANGA: ÚNICA E AUTENTICA DOS POVOS NYUNGUE

Vollständiger Abstract

Worum geht es in dieser Arbeit?

This article aims to analyze the cultural role of Nyanga dance, an artistic expression practiced in the southern part of Tete Province, particularly in the districts of Changara and Marara and in the city of Tete. The study is part of the Government’s Five-Year Program (2020–2024), which promotes sociocultural research to value, preserve, and promote Mozambican cultural heritage. The relevance of this work lies in the unique cultural characteristics of Nyanga dance in the Southern African region and the risk of its extinction, highlighting the urgent need to safeguard it. In this vein, the research proposes to provide a basis for elevating the dance to the status of National Cultural Heritage, considering its sociocultural significance for the Nyúngwè ethnic group. Methodologically, this is an exploratory study with a qualitative approach, based on the inductive method. The study was divided into three stages: a literature review, fieldwork involving semi-structured interviews with 18 participants, and content analysis of the collected data. The results aim to contribute to the dissemination and production of knowledge about the Nyanga dance, benefiting both the general public and the academic community. The study covered cultural groups that preserve the Nyanga tradition in the villages of Mpadwè (City of Tete), Nhagodwua and Missawa (Changara District), as well as Boroma and Ponte 9 (Marara District). However, despite the sociocultural relevance of this practice, the Nyanga dance is at risk of disappearing, as the few groups that still practice it are mostly composed of elderly people. This scenario concerns both the government and the practitioners of this cultural expression.