Cultural and linguistic diversity
ANGOLA is proud to have a cultural diversity to match its large area. Although the official language is Portuguese, the nation’s 18 provinces contain a number of official indigenous languages, estimates of which range between 35 and 60.

The three major ethnic groups, the Ovimbundu, the Kimbundu and the Bakongo, each have their own distinct tongue, all of which are related to African Bantu languages.
In addition to this, a small number of Angolans living in the south of the country, commonly referred to as Bushmen, speak a rare “click” language, one of the so called Khoisan languages, characterised by guttural click sounds.

The displacement of hundreds of thousands of people during the civil war had a large effect on the formerly quite discrete languages of Angola. Rural workers fled to the cities and were forced to learn new languages to communicate in ethnically mixed surroundings.

This piece has been faithfully copied from the original Cokwe scultpure in Angola’s National Anthropological Museum

A thought-provoking national symbol
NOW considered a Symbol of National Culture, this sculpture has been dubbed “O Pensador” or “The Thinker” and is described as a “masterpiece of harmony and symmetry of line”. The wooden figure has been attributed to the Cokwe or Chokwe ethnic group from the north-eastern part of the country, a society renowned for its tradition of wooden masks and sculptures.

The piece represents an androgynous person, with face tilted slightly downwards in thought. The intended purpose of the carving is not known, but it is thought to have been destined for use in a coming-of-age ritual. The enigmatic figure raises many questions, but it is recognized by experts world-over as a beautiful and balanced representation of calmness and serenity.

Sporting excellence for a country with its sights set on the Olympics
ANGOLA is a nation quite justly proud of its citizens’ performance in the world sporting arena. The country has competed in a variety of sports, from national to international and Olympic levels.

The Angolan National Basketball team, competing in the FIBA 2002 World Basketball Championships, was considered to be “by far the best African team” by top sporting commentators

Joaquim “Kikas” Gomes will be one of 12 players representing Angola in the Olympic basketball competition in Athens 2004. Currently, he plays as a forward for Valparaiso University in Indiana, and will begin training with the Angolan national side two months prior to the Athens games. Hopes are high for the team, which won its seventh African title in this year’s competition.

A veteran Olympian is Angolan Nadia Cruz. She has competed in the breaststroke contest in the last four Olympic Games. As winner of an International Olympic Committee Solidarity scholarship in 2000, she trained for eight months in Australia prior to the Sydney Games. These scholarships are offered by the host nation to assist in the training of athletes from less developed countries. Nadia Cruz, as the only Angolan swimmer in the competition, had previously been coaching herself in preparation for the event.

Angola won 13 medals at the 2003 Pan-African Games held in Nigeria, with its paralympic team providing five of the awards. José Sayovo won two gold medals for the 100 and 400 meters partially-sighted sprint events. Sayovo’s extraordinary accomplishments have been praised by many in Angola, including the Angolan Paralympic Committee, who have made great progress in the development of sports for the handicapped in the country.

Next year Angola will participate once again on an international level, reaffirming the importance of international sporting excellence for the nation. The 2004 Athens Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, to take place a month afterwards, will both contain Angolan athletes looking for gold.

The majority of tribal art is stylized, but an occasional unique piece comes to light

Beira...full of artisanal treasures
ART plays a vital role in Angolan cultural rituals, as well as being of great esthetic value. The country’s ethno-linguistic groups each have their own distinct artistic style, and various raw materials such as wood, clay, bronze, and malachite are used in their creations. As these handicrafts have grown in popularity with tourists, so this commerce has developed further.

Beira, located 10 miles from Luanda, is home to a weekend handicraft market considered an excellent place to purchase a variety of local products, including baskets, ceramics, and ebony and rosewood sculptures. Another large market for artisanal objects is at Futungo, south of Luanda. Colorful musicians and dancers can often be seen here, playing African instruments and wearing traditional dress of animal skins and shell necklaces.

Prior to the1980s, all marketing of handicrafts fell under the arm of the Ministry of Culture, but since this commercial monopoly over the production of art was removed, the variety of pieces available to the visitor to Angola has truly blossomed.

Capoeira: expressive freedom arising from captivity
CAPOEIRA is a 400-year old Afro-Brazilian martial art that is disguised as a dance between two people. Developed in Brazil in the sixteenth century by the communities of slaves taken there from Angola, Congo, and Guinea, capoeira combines influences of the Brazilian samba with the Angolan innate love of dance and movement.

The objective of the encounter is to use finesse, guile, and technique to maneuver your opponent into a defenseless position, leaving him vulnerable to a blow, kick, or sweep. In general, there is no contact between the two capoeiristas and an implied strike is more admired, particularly when the opponent has obviously been pressured into an indefensible position. All strikes, evasions, and counterstrikes are woven together creatively as the game progresses.

Capoeira is characterized by dynamic, flowing, improvised movements ranging from cartwheels and handstands to spinning kicks. Music is vital to the modern performance; initial suppression of the martial art was overcome by infusing it with a dance-like approach and a musical accompaniment. Because capoeira was disguised as a dance, slave-holders were slow to grasp its deadly potential. Once observers realized its power, capoeira was outlawed in Brazil, and only in the 1930s did it become legal to practice and teach it once more.

The rhythmic nature of the art is led by the berimbau, a steel-stringed instrument, with the pandeiro (tambourine), agogo (african bell), and the atabaque (a conga-like drum) adding to the rising and falling accompaniment. Musical accompaniment is essential to capoeira and is used both to inspire the players to a more intense level of interaction and to calm them down if it becomes too heated.

The etymology of the word capoeira is disputed, but it is suspected to come from the Kikongo word “kipura” or “kipula”, meaning to flutter, flit, struggle, fight, or flog.
For Angolan slaves, capoeira was a literal and symbolic means of survival. It was vital for escape and defense, and more importantly for strengthening cultural connections and links to home. Capoeira is now practiced by an increasing number of people the world over.

Capoeira is a martial art developed over 400 years ago by Angolan slaves taken to Brazil. Its dynamic and fluid moves are improvised to music, leading to its description as a “fight-dance”

A close-knit community
THE Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) was created in Lisbon in 1996 with the objective of uniting the seven countries in the world currently matching this description, and working towards three main aims: to harmonize diplomatic and political relations between the members; to promote economic, social, cultural, judicial, technical, and scientific cooperation; and to support the promotion and diffusion of the Portuguese language.

Recent meetings between representatives from Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and Sao Tomé and Príncipe have led to accords to mutually support the development of education, health, and human resources in all of the member countries.

June 2002 saw the first Business Forum of the CPLP take place, with more than 200 companies from member states in attendance. The theme of business cooperation in the areas of industry and energy, services and infrastructures, tourism, agriculture, and fisheries was at the top of the agenda.

Initiatives allowing visiting businesses to display their products and services in order to attract and develop cross-country collaborations suggest that, in the future, this group of nations will be linked by more than just a common language.