Intangible Cultural Heritage in Mozambique - Wikivoyage, the free collaborative travel and tourism guide - Patrimoine culturel immatériel au Mozambique — Wikivoyage, le guide de voyage et de tourisme collaboratif gratuit

This article lists the practices listed in UNESCO intangible cultural heritage to Mozambique.

Understand

The country has two practices listed on the "representative list of intangible cultural heritage From UNESCO.

No additional practice is included in the "register of best practices for safeguarding culture "Or on the"emergency backup list ».

Lists

Representative list

Convenient	Year	Domain	Description	Drawing
The Chopi Timbila	2008	* Performing Arts know-how related to traditional craftsmanship	The Chopi communities, established mainly in Inhambane province, in the southern mozambique, are renowned for their orchestral music. Their orchestras are composed of five to thirty wooden xylophones called timbila (mbila in the singular), of different sizes and tones. Timbila are wooden instruments, made and tuned with the greatest care. They are made from mwenje, a slow growing tree whose wood has great resonance. Each blade of wood rests on a calabash which acts as a resonator. It is firmly attached with beeswax and impregnated with nkuso oil, giving the instrument its rich nasal sound and characteristic vibrations. Musicians are both masters and apprentices of all ages, with children playing alongside their grandfathers. Each year, several new songs are composed and performed at weddings and other social events. The rhythms within each theme are extremely complex so that the musician often performs different rhythms with each hand. The compositions, which last almost an hour, alternate between solos and orchestral parts at different tempos. Timbila dances associated with the music are performed by two to twelve dancers in front of the orchestra. Every timbila concert begins with the m’zeno, a solemn song sung by the dancers whom the musicians accompany in mute on a slow rhythm. The writings, imbued with humor and sarcasm, evoke contemporary social issues and reflect events within the community. Most of the experienced timbila players are elderly. While several masters have started to train young musicians and have included girls in orchestras and dance groups, young people are increasingly losing contact with this cultural heritage. In addition, deforestation makes the wood necessary to produce the particular sonority of these instruments scarce.	UNESCO sheet
The Gule Wamkulu Note Mozambique shares this practice with the Malawi and the Zambia.	2008	* Performing Arts * social practices, rituals and festive events	The Gule Wamkulu was a secret cult including a ritual dance performed among the Chewa in Malawi, in Zambia and at Mozambique. He was executed by members of the Nyau Brotherhood, a secret society of initiated men. In the traditional matrilineal society of the Chewa, where married men played a relatively marginal role, the Nyau offered them a means of exerting a balance and establishing solidarity among men from several villages. Even today, members of the Nyau Brotherhood provide initiation for young boys into adulthood and perform the Gule Wamkulu which, succeeding the initiation, celebrates their integration into adult society. Gule Wamkulu takes place after the July harvest, but also at weddings, funerals, and when a chief takes office or dies. For these occasions the Nyau dancers wear costumes and masks made of wood and straw, representing all kinds of creatures: wild animals, spirits of the dead, slave traders or more recent figures such as the honda or the helicopter. Each of these characters has a unique role, often harmful, which illustrates reprehensible behavior and helps teach moral and social values. They perform dances with extraordinary energy, entertaining and frightening at the same time the public by their incarnation of the world of spirits and the dead. The Gule Wamkulu dates back to the great Chewa Empire of the seventeenth century. Despite the efforts of Christian missionaries to ban the practice, he managed to survive under British colonial rule by incorporating some aspects of Christianity. So Chewa men are often members of a Christian church and a Nyau society at the same time. However, the Gule Wamkulu is gradually losing its original functions and significance as it tends to be reduced to entertainment for tourists or put into the service of political parties.	UNESCO sheet

Register of Best Safeguarding Practices

Mozambique does not have a practice listed in the Register of Best Safeguarding Practices.

Emergency backup list

Mozambique does not have a practice on the Emergency Safeguarding List.