Massacre de Mueda brings the most prominent East-African masking tradition, Mapiko, vividly to life in this vibrant and exciting music and dance performance. The group takes the concept of mapiko to a wholly new level, interpreting the dance with minimalist instrumentation and modernist elegance. It is experimental, but spiritual; rarefied, but wholly carnal.

In the group, Atanasio Nhussi caresses the elongated drum mileya; Valerio Mwale commands the sturdy lead drum ligoma; Mauricio Geraldo Filipe Nangonga strikes the small chalice-shaped boa-skin shinganga; and a young talented Dinis Oreste Kwimbantela gives life to the mystic mapiko. All four are professional performers and local celebrities in the military neighbourhood ensemble.

The group Massacre de Mueda‚ has also other numbers in its repertoire‚ such as Shinalombo, the pelvis-shaking dance of initiation ritual masters; and mashawona, a violent but tender youth dance from the northerly riverside district of Nangade.

About Mapiko:
The Mapiko of the Mozambican Makonde is the most prominent East-African masking tradition. In Shimakonde, mapiko means at once: masking, shapechanging, wonder. The Mozambican mapiko tradition has ceaselessly changed throughout the twentieth-century, appropriating foreign elements into its dramatic texture. When the Struggle for National Liberation exploded in the remote Mueda plateau, mapiko vividly enacted political engagements and social changes. Today, it is a lively local tradition and a symbol of the Mozambican nation.

Find out more about this fascinating tradition at the Think Out the Box Conference on Thursday 8th September, Barrie Theatre, Iziko

About Massacre de Mueda:
The group Massacre de Mueda was born under the initiative of Atanasio Cosme Nhussi‚ dancer, choreographer and researcher of the Mozambican National Company of Dance and Song for over 20 years. The group is composed by selected performers from a popular mapiko ensemble of the city of Maputo, based in the military neighbourhood where Makonde former guerrillas live.

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