Daryl King

he exposition surveys the Makonde traditional dance form, mapiko as well as the contextual history of Mozambique and of the conditions in which mapiko is delivered. Mapiko is more like fractured breakdancing with eccentric costumes, composed of various, bright fabric prints and, sometimes, organic material. The moves of the dancers are violently graceful and with minor acrobatic elements. The difference between mapiko and the breakdancing is the element of folk stories laced in the way that the dancers exert their bodies. Yet, mapiko shares the same epic status amongst the youth.

The masks worn by the dancers in their performances are a focal point in mapiko dance. Dancers from each group would each carve themselves masks. The masks are similar to helmets, and are evocatively realistic. The unique craftsmanship of the masks provides both clear and subtle distinctions between the works of the Makonde and masks made by other African ethnic groups. Most of them are made out of wood and feature brass eyes, black or orange pigmentation, which is used to delineate between different skin tones, scored geometric tattoos, lip plugs (on the female masks) and creative coiffures. Some of them are quite haunting because of the human hair glued to the masks in order to have them appear more realistic.

While mapiko operates on a cultural scale in the lives of the Makonde, it also performs a religious and spiritual objective. The anima of the distant ancestors would transcend the barrier between life and death to intercede on the wearer’s behalf. This form of possession gave the performer purpose and a vitality that made his dance daringly wild and ferocious. Dancers would compete against each other for respect and creative rivalry. Marionettes of a man and woman, along with a few scepters that feature faces, were present at the show, and they all demonstrate the prevalence of humanism in the mapiko opus.

Mapiko took on a new identity and birth once the Portuguese pierced into the Makonde Plateau in the early 20th Century. The Portuguese capitalized on the craftsmanship of the Makonde and exported their work. Nampyopyo, a Makonde mapiko artist, started to create work that reflected both how the mapiko developed to incorporate the history of Makonde people and a new ethnographic approach to the mask construction. The most striking mask out of the set that was displayed depicted a Portuguese man with a fair complexion, devilish smile and curled moustache, symbolizing the Makonde revulsion for their colonizers. Nampyopyo’s work also reflects the strong African reaction to colonization and the desire to protect its history and identity, lest they be completely dominated by their European invaders.

When the Portuguese granted Mozambique their independence, they achieved fleeting sovereignty. The FRELIMO communist party took control during that period, the communist government exalted mapiko artwork to inspire pride and a strong Mozambican individuality. Dancers were commissioned to create pieces that depicted reverent communist leaders and other important social figures.

Mozambique quickly descended into a civil war that was to some extent started by Rhodesia and later apartheid South Africa. Millions of Mozambicans fled to neighboring countries and were not able to return home until late 1992. Mapiko would not begin to revitalize itself until 1994 with the creation of mapiko mang’anyamu by Martis Jackson. Jackson created masks of animal heads. The alligator and cheetah masks at the gallery look quite true to form and a video of the performers showed that the dancers mimicked the behavior of the animals in their performance, recalling some of the wildness of the pre-colonial style.

The most recent evolution of mapiko is naupanga. Invented by village youths in 2001, mapiko naupanga uses recycled materials and masks as an efficient way for the youths to make their masks with limited resources. One naupanga mask shows an old man, who is blatantly ugly. The story of the mask is that he is an adulterer, lecherous, lazy, and too often drunk. This helps to provide a strong contrast with the image of ambition, hope, and optimism that the Mozambican youths have discovered in the recent day, taking the responsibility of ensuring the economic growth and stability of the Mozambique nation.