The modern history of Mozambique is similar to many other countries in Africa.

Mozambique has an illustrious past and culture that has been marked by its first encounter with European settlers at the dawn of colonization. The second arrival of the Portuguese in the late !""s ignited already present animosity into mobilized opposition of colonial the rule. This is considered to be a starting point in Mozambique#s independence movement of the twentieth century $Munslow %&. 'olonial rule in Mozambique was based around the prazo system( which sub)ugated workers to a feudal* like structure that placed the Portuguese landowners in the higher echelons( with Mozambicans representing the lower functions. +ub)ugated individuals e,pressed their disdain and collective frustration towards the oppressive regime through various manners( one of which was song $ -!. /ail and 0hite !!%&. Although these plantations songs would not be considered popular culture because they were not characterized by mass production( communication and consumption( they were still able to have a meaningful and long*lasting impact on large numbers of people $1abian !&. 2owever( these songs were influential precisely because they shared common elements that( according to 3ichols( are inherent to popular culture4 they resonated with life at its worst as they reflected the struggles and the vulgarity of every day life. 5n addition( they related a collective reality which was( in this particular case( the unwillingness to accept sub)ugation in silence $%!&.

Resounding with Life: Plantation Songs

Plantation songs surfaced as a means of e,pressing the collective struggle and the vulgarity of life under Portuguese colonial rule. Many populist scholars believe that large*scale cultural activities are indeed influential as they present difficult realities in the hopes that such actualities will one day become history $3gugi . &. Mozambican plantation songs tell us of such struggles which surfaced at a certain( relevant moment in Mozambique#s history. Historical Context 0hen the Portuguese reappeared in the area surrounding the 6ambezi 7iver in the late !""s( so as not to be left out of the 8scramble for Africa(9 they brought with them the Estado Navo ideology which stressed the importance of civilizing the tribal peoples( specifically through forced labour $Munslow !&. The militant state of Portugal used a feudal*like system to divide up the land into prazos which were plots of land that indigenous inhabitants of the land were forced to cultivate under the watchful eye of the prazeros or colonial masters $5saacman :&. Those working on the prazos would receive minimal wages and would be forced to pay heavy ta,es every three months to the colonial ta, collector $ -!. /ail and 0hite !!!&. Those who were not chosen to work in prazos or traded as slaves were placed in ivory and gold mines where long hours( dangerous conditions and low wages awaited them $5saacman ;:&. The people of this

. region( after hundreds of years of contact with the European colonizers( did not accept these realities without opposition. They engaged in various forms of opposition including violence towards Portuguese police( evasion of ta, payment( social banditry and vandalism of the colonial estates $5saacman and 5saacman "&. 2owever( these actions

were punished with harsh consequences and were thus not the most effective means of e,pressing disapproval of daily realities created by the colonial government. +ongs( on the other hand( were sung in local languages and were therefore more covert but still vital ways of demonstrating dissatisfaction with the brutality of every day life. Echoes of Everyday Life +amora Machel( a former Mozambican president( e,presses that 8colonialism and imperialism made Mozambicans know the brutal face of aggression( e,ploitation and oppression9 $%&. Machel also states that although colonialism attempted to divide the people( their collective struggle $often e,pression through song& kept them together $<"&. 5t is without a doubt that plantation songs were influential because they voiced the brutality that was part of every day life. To demonstrate that songs did not spring up from an individual e,perience but rather from a collective outcry against various realities( /ail and 0hite argue that common themes recur in Mozambican plantation songs( which surged from different parts of the region $ -!. !!%&. 5ndeed( lyrics like 85 am a coal=>ou wrench me brutally from the ground=And make me your mine( boss9 represent a fact of life by which many sub)ugated people were confronted4 the colonial masters# ob)ectification of the human

< body $5saacman and 5saacman ? &. 0ith the beginning of the slave trade( it became evident that the bodies of African people were regarded as ob)ects that could be e,ploited as a means of obtaining wealth and many people @ not only workers on a particular plantation @ could identify with the lyrics of the aforementioned song. 5n addition( the song speaks of the fact that the workers who were under colonial rule and had lost control over their own bodies which were at the disposal of powerful colonizers. This is perhaps why the song is still taught to children today $5bid&. Paiva Song and the Vulgarity of Life 5n an article written by /ail and 0hite( we find a discussion based on the origins of the Paiva song( a well*known composition with many variants and allegedly sung in Mozambique since the late nineteenth century $ -%! /ail and 0hite ::&. Paiva, the surname of a Portuguese merchant family which owned the sugar company known as the +ena +ugar Estates near the lower 6ambesi 7iver( was not only used to refer to the individuals belonging to that family $especially AosB de Paiva 7aposo& but also to the deprivation( inequality( poverty and hardships of every day life $5bid :<&. The Paiva song condemned everything from the railroad system to the cane fields $ -!. /ail and 0hite !-"&. Cyrics such as these were commonly sung by women4 8>ou are making me suffer=Deating me up= >ou( beating me up= >our( Mr. balls*ownerE9 $ -%! /ail and 0hite :%&. These verses clearly allude to the e,ploitation women faced on plantations. According to various songs( we can draw that women working on a specific plantation $who were particularly vulnerable to se,ual and physical violence& were so angered by the brutal treatment that they put a curse of AosB de Paiva#s genitals $5bid&. These songs

: that were sung by women were accompanied by a dance and became so widespread that they are still performed in various villages today $ -%! /ail and 0hite :!&. /itality( according to 3ichols( is a product of any popular cultural good that reflects human e,perience $%!&. These songs were therefore prevalent because they reflected a common e,perience of women working in plantations. Men also e,pressed their contempt for the unfair treatment that they incessantly encountered through various plantation songs. 5t was common for men to sing verses that e,pressed anger as a result of working long hours without receiving any or little compensation $ -!. /ail and 0hite&. 5n this twelve*minute song that is divided between men and which so that there is almost a dialogue between the two parties( the resentment that men held towards Paiva is made clear4 Nga ala dinyero ache n"a#e "uyiona tai Ndi a zi$iri zanyan"$ira 'oto"a "oto"a ntu #asiyale 'oto"a na idiya ya asi"u Nga ala te po yache n"a#e "uyiona tai Paiva( )pi"a chita Paiva !fter everything, you cant see your oney at all %$o $hole tas"s of earthing&up People "noc"ing off, "noc"ing off at supperti e 'noc"ing off in the iddle of the night !fter everything, you cant see your ti e at all Paiva, thats $hat Paiva did( $/ail and 0hite :%& 3ot only are these verses a reflection of every day life or of an every day e,perience that is the discontentment with toiling when the reaping is so minimal( it also encompasses the vulgarity of daily life. As mentioned previously( 3ichols states that this vulgarity resonates with life at its worse and reflects a reality that most people can relate with $%!&.

? 5t also a means of verbalizing an anger that surfaces as a result of in)ustices and in this case( the fact that the labourers were hard at work for hours on end while their overseer did nothing all day long. This may facilitate an e,planation for the popularity of the plantation song as an abundance of people was sub)ected to the same hardships and as a result( e,perienced the same emotions.

According to /ail and 0hite( the Paiva song permitted e,ploitation a field in which to be articulated $:?&. 1abian e,presses that this articulation $without reflection& of an emotion or an event through song( i.e. 8lyrical complaint(9 or through any form of popular culture is what distinguishes popular $low& culture from elite $high& culture( which essentially e,plains or necessitates a reflection of the matter at hand $;:&. 0e can conclude( therefore( that plantations songs share common elements with popular culture as well as with elite culture although it does not fall entirely in either category but rather into its own( 8folklore9 $1abian !&. The plantation workers voiced their anger towards e,ploitative practices like the law which stated that all workers were to pay ta,es @ to be paid out of their already e,tremely low wages and also with produce @ quarterly $ -!. /ail and 0hite !!!&. Ta, evasion was common when the local people knew the penalties would not be carried out by the 8headman9 but in plantation systems( which were highly monitored and regulated( this was not possibleF as a result( frustrations towards this unfair ta,ation system was e,pressed through songs $5saacman "&. The following is a verse

from a song that speaks towards the head ta, and the consequences if one should choose to not comply4

% %he head an & ay & ay & ay * ay %he head an harassed and seized one of y sons for Lua#o, %he other $ent to Sao %ho e and never returned( +, going to #ury the head an and #uild y house on his head%he head an & ay & ay & ay * ay $ -!. /ail and 0hite !-;& This verse relates the punishment for not paying the head ta,4 the seizing of one or more of the plantation worker#s children with the possibility of never having them returned. Thus the song is not only an articulation of an event( but also a manifestation of the frustration and fury caused by the event( hence the desire to eradicate the ta, collector and build a habitation on his cadaver. The verse alludes to an impossibility( which is the assassination of the headman( and consequently( we can state that contains another element of popular culture4 a 8convenient distraction9 from every day life and thus( a space for escapism $1abian ;?&. Escapis As the harsh reality of the vulgarity that plantation workers faced in their daily lives was too much to bear in silence( they created these particularly appealing songs in which they could behave in a nonrealistic way4 8>ou can do it= you can do it= >ou can find the chief and beat him up=you can do it= Dut the chief is a powerful manG9 $ -!. /ail and 0hite !-<&. The plantation workers would very likely not dare engage in anything of this nature( especially not towards a powerful figure as there e,isted consequences not only for themselves but also for their children and fellow labourers $5saacman "&. The

songs( therefore( provided a space in which they could behave in any which way they pleased and not have to fear the result. /arious plantation songs allude to the fact that

! overseers would smile when the workers began to sing their songs of protest because they could not understand the language and believed the singing to be a verification of the pacification of the workers $ -!. /ail and 0hite !!!&. The insulting of a field manager outside the song( however( was not at option $5bid&. 1abian also discusses the fact that the ruling state would normally endorse any cultural form that provided a kind of escapism as it distracted those subordinated from lashing out violently $;?&. Therefore an e,planation for the popularity of these songs is the fact that they provide oppressed peoples a space where they could escape from the oppressors and reprimand them for all the wrongs that they had committed. Plantation Songs. ! /or of Leisure Plantation songs not only served the function of keeping labourers occupied while working but also providing for them a means of entertainment during spare moments. Ceisure time is essential when engaging not only in popular culture but also in the traditional as this is when genres that are termed as entertainment $which are arguably of value as they speak of matters of great concern for those who both produce and consume them& are consumed $Darber ;&. Many of these rhythmic( lively songs @ which ranged from beginning at twelve minutes to half an hour @ were elaborated and were sung in accompaniment of dances or even in theatrical*type performances $ -%! /ail and 0hite :%&. 5n various versions of the Paiva song for instance( the lead singer would be dressed for dancing in a traditional grass skirt and would be )oined by two drummers and by women with rattles who shook them to a particular rhythm $:?&. 5n another version of the Paiva song( women placed themselves in a circle and individual dancers would dance

into the circle with their eyes fi,ed to the ground $:%&. The songs ostracized plantation overseers as they ridiculed everything from their walk to their mannerisms( in addition to their way of speaking for the sake of entertainment $ -!. /ail and 0hite !!!&. Therefore the songs were not only a means of e,pressing discontent but also a species of art or entertainment that could thoroughly by en)oyed by the audience during their leisure time.

Conclusion Plantation songs( although not a form of popular culture because they were not produced and consumed by masses nor were they communicated on a large*scale( were able to have a vast and lasting impression on Mozambican society precisely because they characterized by other common features related to popular culture. These features include the fact that they related a collective struggle and a general condemnation of the various conditions that there were faced with in a plantation society. 5n addition( plantation workers and local people in general had the capability to consume these songs without fear of consequence and so they sub)ected to being a form of underground culture but rather( current culture. 1inally( these songs were entertaining and were accompanied with dances( drums( role*playing( etc.( and could therefore be an en)oyable aspect of leisure time. 3ot only were these songs vehicles of articulation of a common struggle( but they also provided a space in which people could contemplate and reflect on daily realities. 5n this way( we witness what Darber refers to as the 8distinction between Hfolk=traditional#( Hpopular#( and Hmass# culture and the ambiguity of each category in the sense that they

" have more in common than what elitists would concur $<&. 0hat makes popular culture Hpopular# is the notion that it is a space in which reality is contested and emotions related to political and cultural struggles are articulated $Darber .&. Plantation songs possess these characteristics and thus we can understand why they were and continue to be an undeniably significant aspect of Mozambican society.

Darber( I. $ --%&. 5ntroduction. 5n I.Darber $Ed.&( 0eadings in !frican Popular Culture $pp. * ;&. Condon4 5nternational African 5nstitute. Munslow( Darry. Mozambique4 The 7evolution and its Jrigins. Condon4 Congman 2ouse Ctd( -!. 1abian( Aohannes. Popular 'ulture in Africa4 1indings and 'on)ectures. $ -%!& In K.Barber (Ed.) Readings in African Popular Culture ( . !"!#!"$). London: International %frican Institute 5saacman( Allen. The Tradition of 7esistance in Mozambique4 Anti*colonial Activity in the 6ambesi /alley. Condon4 2einemann Educational Dooks( -%?. 5saacman( Allen and Darbara 5saacman. Mozambique4 1rom 'olonialism to 7evolution( -""* -!;. K+A4 0estview Press( -!.. Machel( +amora. Mozambique4 +owing the +eeds of a 7evolution. 2arare4 6imbabwe Publishing 2ouse( -!%. 3ichols( Mary. 8A Lefense of Popular 'ulture9 Thiong#J( 3gugi wa. 0omen in 'ultural 0ork4 The 1ate of the Iamiriithu People#s Theatre in Ienya. $ -! ;& In K.Barber (Ed.)& Readings in African Popular Culture ( . !"!#!"$). London: International %frican Institute& !''$ /ail( C. M 0hite( C. $ -!.&. 1orms of 7esistance4 +ongs and Perceptions of Power in 'olonial Mozambique. %he ! erican Historical 0evie$( !! $<&( !!.*- -. ************** $ -%!&. Plantation Protest4 The 2istory of a Mozambican +ong. 5n I.Darber $Ed.&( 0eadings in !frican Popular Culture $pp. * ;&. Condon4 5nternational African 5nstitute( --%.