Narrativas sobre máscaras mapiko na cidade de Maputo-Moçambique

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the different ways that the mapiko mask is seen and how it has changed over time. The work was based on ethnographic research using participant observation techniques and semi-structured interviews. Research results appreciated that masks were used in ancient societies, as a vehicle of communication between the natural and supernatural world. The map has the same utility, but these changes over the years. Masks are used in a ritual context, but their use as an object represents and hides the identity of the practitioners (dancers). The work concluded that many of the people who wear Mapiko masks and dance are from the Makonde ethnic group, mainly males, who have gone through the Likumbi initiation rites. The mapiko mask is being marked by several transformations and is seen as a representation of the Makonde ethnic group.