To speak of Nampula is above all to speak of the Macua — the country's largest ethnolinguistic group, whose language, Emakhwa, is spoken by millions of people across northern Mozambique.
The Macua
Macua society is matrilineal: lineage and inheritance follow the mother's side. It is a cultural trait that sets it apart from much of southern Africa and is reflected in how families and communities are organised.
From Macua culture come the Mapiko masks, pottery, basketry, ebony carving and mussiro — the white root mask women apply to their faces, today one of the country's most recognisable visual symbols.
The Lomwé
In the inland highlands, around Mount Namuli, live the Lomwé. At 2,419 metres, Namuli is a sacred mountain to them — the place where, according to oral tradition, the people themselves came from.
The coastal communities
Along the 460 km of coastline, centuries of trade with the Arab and Swahili world left Islamic communities with their own identity — starting with the Island of Mozambique, where the Tufo dance still marks the festivals of the calendar.
Languages
Portuguese is the official language and the language of administration. In everyday life, however, Emakhwa is the most widely spoken language in the province.
Want to see it for yourself?
We can arrange visits to communities and traditional dance performances.
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