O tradicional e o moderno na construção de identidade sociocultural: o caso dos ritos de iniciação masculina entre os membros da comunidade Makonde na Zona Militar da cidade de Maputo

Abstract

This work of a research project culminating studies for the degree of degree in anthropology deals with the dynamics of the practice of male initiation rites in the Military zone of Maputo city in the context of the construction of sociocultural identity among the members of the Makonde community. The research followed a theoretical analysis procedure that advocates the culture as a complex made up of meanings produced and interpreted socially. Following an anthropological perspective, our proposal was an ethnographic study that consisted of our involvement in the initiation rites as researchers, integrating practitioners of the Likumbi ritual within the analysis of ritual processes. We chose to give priority to the discussion of the ethnographic data of the male initiation ritual processes taking into account their historical evolution, which allowed us to understand the practices, knowledge and symbolic meanings related to the Likumbi initiation rites. The objective of this research is to understand the dynamics of the Likumbi male initiation rites in the Makonde community taking into account the urban context characterized by several defining factors of modernity that influence the form as the traditional institutions responsible for the construction of Makonde socio-cultural identities in the city of Maputo. We problematize the concepts of tradition and modernity as two dimensions that interpenetrate in the process of building sociocultural identity in the urban environment of the city of Maputo. We argue that tradition and modernity are two dimensions by which individuals mobilize and make their choices; that individuals use traditional values ​​to assert themselves within their ethnolinguistic groups and distinguish themselves from other groups and also use the values ​​of modernity to insert themselves into global society.