realmozambique.org
A personal look at this intriguing country on the Indian
Ocean
The AK47, with the hoe and
the yellow star, pictured as
part of the national flag,
revives memories of the
Marxist part of its recent
history.
The Beach
For Mozambicans a focal point for socialising
Stand still for a
moment at low tide on
Maputo beach and
then give a sudden
movement. It seems
as if the ground has
moved. Thousands of
tiny brown crabs are
scuttling back to their
holes.
temperature can climb to the mid or
upper thirties and in some inland
spots to 40° or more. Most people
live near the coast so, with its  
more than 2300 kilometres of
Indian Ocean frontage, this means
that many people are not too far
away from a beach and that is
where they like to congregate.
« These are what live in the
sand, » this girl explains to her
little brother
Always a pleasure digging about
in the wet, warm sand  with your
fingers.
To escape the heat and humidity many
people head to the beaches in the
afternoon, especially at the weekends.
They don’t go there to swim as few are
able to, but to play and socialize. They
jump up and down in the water and frolic
at the edges. Groups of young boys and
girls play football as they howl and
scream. Anyone can join in. They shout as
I pass by, “Come and play Papa”, Papa
being a deferential term for an older
person. There are children scooping the
sand for the millions of tiny crabs, kids
frolicing, rolling about in the warm water
trapped in dips in the sand at low tide.
This dialogue would probably read
something like, « What are nice girls
like you doing in a place like this? »
They love to hold hands while talking as this
Mozambicans are an extremely tactile people.
girl does as she imparts  what is, probably,
some secret of the heart.  
Some, of course, come to do business:
women vendors grill fish or chicken to
serve with “Xima” which is a dish made
from milled maize corn, some sell beer
and soft drinks, some oranges peanuts or
cashew nuts, some young men carry
around the full panoply of nail varnishes
and paint toenails and fingernails for
those who care about the body’s
extremities, there is a photographer or
two strolling around hoping to sell a
photo, some young men tote around a
trampoline which kids can jump on for a
few cents, a young man is jerking the
strings of two wooden gaudily coloured
puppets as he has them twist and jump in
a rather obscene version of some local
dance.
Every day, in summer, Fatima comes
to the beach to sell beers and soft
drinks. She does this to help her family
but she enjoys it too. She meets lots of
people. At times, her mother comes too
but as she is often sick, Fatima looks
after the business mainly on her own .
“singles” bar. Few young people
have the chance, simply not
having the money, to go to places,
like discotheques, where they
might meet the opposite sex,
dance and have fun. Therefore,
they have turned the beaches of
Mozambique into vibrant meeting
In some ways the beach is a huge
“singles” bar. Few young people
points. Of course there are many
families and lots of children but, all
the while, some serious flirting is
always being done by both sexes.
« Am I not simply beautiful? »
These young people, on the right, are
dancing to their own singing. Some
African birds are also known to do this.

Sometimes things are not so quiet. At
times young bloods arrive in their
souped up cars and lift the lids of their
boots to reveal huge speakers which
are capable of making the trees rock
within a hundred-metre radius.
The beach is the most democratic
“institution” in Mozambique, nobody is
refused permission. Dress code is
informal for entering the water: street
clothes, swimwear, underclothes, no
clothes, collar and tie, religious
garments, etc.
There are no toilet facilities at the beach
and Mozambicans drink a lot. You have
to watch out for what you might stumble
across in the sand.
Girls squat down to urinate wherever
there is a dip in the sand. Boys do it
standing up. Of course some girls and
women do it standing up also.
Even so, it is a wonderful place for
children and families. The water is
shallow and, at low tide, there are miles
and miles of sand. Kids wander around
unmolested and unguarded.
Other groups enjoy the beach too.
Karate classes, wedding groups, visiting
delagations from the World Bank...
Serious drinking before serious
womanising
I often take a book, buy a beer and sit reading on the beach. It surprises people to
see someone reading on the beachor anywhere else, for that matter. As I read,
somebody is sure to sit down to chat about the book or try to show off their minimal
English. Maputo beach has distinct sections. The first part, with some fancy
restaurants, belongs to the 4-wheel-drive crowd who like to do kite surfing, whites
and rich blacks. The next stretch belongs to the people who walk there from one of
the shanty towns a kilometre or two away. Here people splash in the water in their
clothes or underclothes. One or two coconut stalls for the thirsty ones. Further on
are Mozambicans who have the money to come by mini-bus or their own cars. They
can drink beer, soft drinks and eat grilled fish and chicken done over charcoal.
Some wander homewards with the going
down of the sun, some will wait to see the
moon come up and  others will go home with
the dawn. While Mozambican culture is a
very collective one, some do take, at times, a
quiet moment or two to reflect
Awinha is Muslim and an
unmarried mother. (Many,
many young single
Mozambican girls are
mothers.) She goes to the
Mosque on Fridays enjoys
the beach in her bikini.
Mozambicans are an
exuberant race. The
proximity of water seems
to make them even more so.
Waiting to see what the
sea might bring!
Grilling chicken and fish
("Mugumba" small bony
but cheap fish from
Maputo Bay).
As we can see, the
tentacles of Coca Cola
have  reached into
deepest Africa
Before the photos a small
dance on the sand to
bring good luck!
Freedom to play for the
young and not so young.
Sunday-morning
karate class
Testing the wind
First visit
Good somersaults can attract an
audience
7am on a Sunday
morning. Why are
they not in church?
Frolicking is the word which most often
comes to mind!