THE ORIGINS OF WAR IN MOZAMBIQUE A History of Unity and Division Sayaka Funada-Classen Translated by Masako Osada AFRICAN MINDS Th e author alone is responsible for what is written and all the interpretations in this book. None should be attributed to any persons or institutes that have provided assistance to the author. Hardcover edition fi rst published in 2012 by Ochanomizu Shobo Co Ltd 5-30-20 Hongo Bunkyoku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan Paperback edition fi rst published in 2013 by African Minds 4 Eccleston Place, Somerset West 7130, South Africa www.africanminds.co.za © 2012 Sayaka Funada-Classen Hardback ISBN 978-4-275-00952-4 C3030 Paperback ISBN 978-1-920489-97-7 e-book ISBN 978-1-920489-98-4 Text design and typesetting by COMPRESS.dsl www.compressdsl.com Printed in South Africa by Capitil Printing Contents Preface v List of Illustrations vii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ix Introduction Seeking the Origins of Unity and Division 1 Chapter 1. Emergence of “Mozambique” and Social Changes under Colonial Rule 57 Chapter 2. Characteristics of Maúa and the Process of Colonisation 97 Chapter 3. Mozambique Before the Liberation Struggle 137 Chapter 4. World Politics from 1960 to 1975 and Mozambique’s Liberation Struggle 203 Chapter 5. Maúa Circumscription during the Liberation Struggle 287 Conclusion From the Liberation Struggle to Post-independence Armed Confl ict 375 Bibliography 395 Acknowledgements 416 About the Author 418 About the Translator 418 Index of Organisations and Institutions 419 Index of People and Ethnic Groups 425 Index of Place Names 430 “ Th e peace has arrived, but we still don’t know where this war came from.” “ We haven’t been told why this war came to us. If both sides were all Mozambicans, we need to tell the young people the truth in order not to continue.” “Th e truth is painful, but it’s necessary.” “ We want to forget, but we need to make sure our children understand that there was a war in our country and many people died.” (Extracts from interviews with Makhuwa women in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, in August 2011) Preface In 1994 I was about to leave Mozambique after having completed my work for the United Nations Operation in Mozambique (ONUMOZ), when I was suddenly struck by serious doubts. How could I leave this place like this? How dare I speak as a UN functionary about peace and democratisation to local people when I knew so little about their country? I was ashamed of my ignorance and arrogance. While looking down at the red earth from the window of the aeroplane, I remembered the silence and sharp gaze of those who I met there. True, I had always wanted to work for “peace” since my childhood – I was born on the 6th of August (the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima). Yet, was the decision to continue working for the UN correct, ignoring, as it would, the uniqueness of local communities and the individualities of people? Would that be the right way to achieve peace and democracy? Th e next time I was off ered a job working for a UN mission, my mind was clear. It was time to leave the blue UN cap behind. I shouldn’t become a “mission bird”. I was resolved that I would seek out the vast experience hidden behind people’s silences and their unspoken fear and would let the world know about it, however many years it might take. Eighteen years have passed since then. Finally, I am able to fulfi l the promise I made to myself. Th is book attempts to reveal the origins of war in Mozambique, paying attention to the structural process of various relations at international, regional, domestic, local and personal levels. In the course of the research which was conducted over a fi fteen- year-period since 1996, I have used all available primary sources of information, sourced archival research in fi ve countries and interviewed more than 350 people. I fi nished writing the Japanese edition in 2005. It was not easy to decide how much of the discussion and overview of the situation from that time to include in the English edition published seven years later. New books and articles have been published in the meantime. Politics changes constantly. However, I had to draw a line. Th is book might attract severe criticism for not refl ecting the most recent information, but if that happens, I thought, I would write another book, a better one, taking the criticism and new fi ndings into account. Th e book focuses on an area called Maúa, not because I believe Maúa represents the whole of Mozambique as such, but because highlighting a specifi c area and people helps to understand the Mozambican history more deeply and comprehensively. In any case, it would be impossible to study the experience of all Mozambicans. I am not attempting to write a history textbook of Mozambique, or a glorious history of the liberation struggle, but rather trying to fi ll a gap in the descriptions of contemporary Mozambican history by delving into matters that have not been written about before. Although my intention was always to write this book in both English and Portuguese, I published it in Japanese fi rst since there were virtually no Japanese academic books on contemporary African history, let alone any on Portuguese-speaking Africa. Th is delayed vi Th e Origins of the War in Mozambique the book’s publication in the languages with which many scholars and stakeholders are more familiar. Translation itself turned out to be a colossal task. My translators and editors had a tremendous job, due mainly to the sheer volume of the book (669 pages in Japanese). Moreover, in my Japanese book, I quoted passages, originally written in English, Portuguese or French but which had already been translated into Japanese. For this book, I had to fi nd the original texts. Some were unobtainable in Japan and had to be translated into English from Japanese. Spelling was another headache. Some place and people’s names were spelled diff erently, depending on references, interpreters and scholars. For instance, a Makhuwa chief “Mwalia” is also spelled as “Mualia” and “Mwaliya”; and “sipaio” (an African policeman) as “cipaio” and “sipai”. In most cases, I have adopted the spelling used locally. Th e names of provinces, districts and cities are spelled according to the maps made in Mozambique (e.g., Maúa and Moçambique District). Widely accepted English spelling, if any, is prioritised (e.g., Makonde and Nyanja instead of Maconde and Nianja). Some words are not translated because I fear the nuance may be lost in translation (e.g. assimilado). Plurals of Portuguese and Makhuwa words are indicated by non-italic “s” added to the end (e.g. capatazs and mwenes). Furthermore, common English spelling is used (“Swahili” and “Makhuwa”) rather than linguistic spelling (“Kiswahili” and “Emakhuwa”) for African languages. Many readers might ask themselves what a Japanese academic could have to say about Mozambique, especially about such a big topic. Of course, the history of Mozambique belongs to the people of Mozambique. Yet, I believe that it is because I am not a Mozambican that it was possible to tackle the controversial history. I hope that this book will prompt other scholars to look at the history of Mozambique as part of a larger picture of world history and study it through the lens of the local communities and people living there. Th e title of the Japanese edition was History of Armed Liberation Struggle in Mozambique, the same as that of my Ph.D. dissertation. For the English edition, I have changed the title to Th e Origins of the War in Mozambique in order to attract the attention of not only those involved in Mozambican issues but also those interested in confl ict and peace. Th e publication of the book was made possible by the Grant-in-Aid for Publication of Scientifi c Research Results of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. List of Illustrations Maps Figure 1 Southern Africa xii Figure 2 Mozambique (by Region and Province) xiii Figure 3 Northern Mozambique and the locations of Maúa and Erati xiv Figure 4 RENAMO-controlled areas (as of 1992) 10 Figure 5 Districts where FRELIMO and RENAMO obtained more than twice as many as the opponent’s votes (1994) 14 Figure 6 Simplifi ed ethnographic map of Mozambique (20th century) 16 Figure 7 Progress of the Liberation War by FRELIMO (1966–1974) 33 Figure 8 Area of Maúa Circumscription during the late colonial era shown on the current province of Niassa map 38 Figure 9 1994 National Assembly election result (Niassa Province – by District) 39 Figure 10 Maúa District during the post-independence armed confl ict 42 Figure 11 Movement of the villagers of Maúa District after the 1992 Peace Accord (until 2000) 43 Figure 12 Portuguese “mapa cor-de-rosa” in Africa in the late 19th century 58 Figure 13 Areas of operation of Mozambique concession companies 61 Figure 14 Trade route in the Indian Ocean from the late 18th century to the mid-19th century 64 Figure 15 Process of the military occupation of the Portuguese Colonial Army in northern Mozambique 70 Figure 16 Military situation of northern Mozambique during WWI (1916–1918) 71 Figure 17 Hierarchy of colonial administration under RAU 76 Figure 18 “Scramble for Mozambique” by cotton companies (1942) 80 Figure 19 Transition of the habitations of each ethnic group in northern Mozambique (mid-18th century) 101 Figure 20 Yao’s diaspora, 1840–1880 104 Figure 21 Migration track (niphito) of the Ntepo Group 107 Figure 22 Migration track (niphito) of Makhuwa-Xirima and Metto (20th century) 110 Figure 23 Flow of information sharing in the Portuguese government during the “Colonial Wars” 227 Figure 24 Islamic route in northern Mozambique 239 Figure 25 FRELIMO’s sanctuaries in southern Africa and infi ltration routes 243 Figure 26 Evolution of infi ltration and attacks of FRELIMO in Niassa District (Sep.