This in an ethnomusicological study of choral performance in Maputo, the capital city of Mozambique. It includes a historical perspective over the last thirty years, and it analyzes the changes which took place in performance along with the political changes in this African country. The author studies the use of music for the purpose of creating a national identity. Makwayela, a characteristic kind of male choral performance which developed in Southern Mozambique, is used as a study case. Makwayela is described and framed within the range of expressive modes in Maputo. Its origins are discussed in the background of mining culture in Southern Africa, and its development is associated with recent social history in Mozambique, and particularly in Maputo.
choral performance; Makwayela; Mozambique