Everyday life and memory of Mozambican independence

Reflections from the machamba

Abstract

This article draws on an ethnographic experience to think about the relationships between Mozambican independence and the daily lives on the “machambas” [farms] in southern Mozambique. The objective is to reflect on how the experience of transformations triggered by the end of the colonial era is inscribed in affections, memories, subjectivities, events, relationships. In this sense, ethnography in this article touches upon agricultural land, memories about the liberation of fertile lands, relationships with fruit trees and affections among the ruins of old rural development projects.