Author Archives: Mikaila Rodgers

While many of my previous posts have focused on Angola and its struggle to attain independence, I have decided, in this post, to focus on an aspect of Angola that Americans know little about…it’s culture. In learning about Angola’s culture, I was astonished to find that their culture is not only similar to America’s in a lot of ways, but it is also extremely artistic.

When I say that the culture is similar to America’s, I mean that the culture enjoys similar sports and activities that Americans do, such as football and basketball. Angola’s football association, the Federacao Angolana de Futebol, manages its National team called “Palancas Negras”, or the Sable Antelopes. And its National Basketball Association, or the Federacao Angolana de Basquetbol, manages its basketball team, simply “Angola”. Both teams have made International appearances. Angolans are also known to practice the sport of capoeria, a Brazilian martial art that uses acrobatics and dance to culminate an elegant, yet martial, fighting style. It is also commonly used as a source of entertainment during which individuals exercise their strength, speed, and leverage. Many people do not know that capoeria originated in Angola by African slaves held captive in Brazil. The art is now recognized by the United Nations as a symbol of Angola’s legacy, and has gained the “Cultural Heritage” status.

Angola also has an immense collection of art and poetry, mainly focusing on ethnic art. Interestingly, ethnic art has become more popular in Angolan culture only recently. Some of this art includes: wood carving, ceramics, mask making, clay making, etc. Not only has Angolan art been regarded as some of the finest art in Central Africa (esp. the masks and statues of the Chokwe people), but their masks are used to remake ceremonial Angolan celebrations and festivals. Some of these celebrations include: Christian holidays (though a vast majority of Angolan’s are Roman Catholics), Angolan Independence Day (November 11), ceremonies in remembrance of civil war, family celebrations (such as weddings, births, funerals, and coming-of-age parties), and even festivals for harvest and hunting seasons.

Additionally, Angola has a strong tradition of oral-storytelling and poetry. The reason for this was that many Angolans associate poetry as being a catalyst for Revolution during the country’s fight for independence. During that time, poetry and literature became highly political to support Angolans’ views under Portuguese rule. One of the most famous Angolan poets was Antonia Agostinho Neto, also the former president of Angola from 1975 to 1979.

Currently, one of the most famous places to buy authentic Angolan ethnic art is in the Futungu market near Luanda. Visitors can also gain an experience of the Angolan culture through live music. Musicians dress in traditional clothing and play the marimba, kissange, and ngoma drums.

I am glad to have summed up the semester with this post, as I have been able to gain a more personal perspective of Angola. I’ve realized that their culture shares a lot of the same values and customs as mine does. Furthermore, they enjoy a lot of the same leisures as my country does, and have a similar style. I would encourage anyone to visit Youtube and watch Angolan ethnic dances. It’s so amazing to see how alike our cultures dance and dress!

A major catalyst for the eventual independence of the country of Angola was Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (August 3, 1934 – February 22, 2002). Savimbi was a very proud and patriotic man, devoting his life to the rectification of his homeland, which had been compromised under Portuguese rule. Savimbi was an honored Angolan military and political leader, whose reverence mainly stemmed from his founding of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA was a guerrilla warfare group aimed at attacking Portuguese colonial rule. However, it was not the only group aimed at overcoming Portuguese colonialism. It was in competition with two other guerrilla groups: the Movimento Popular de Libertaccao de Angola (MPLA), the first founded group in 1956, and the Frente Nacional de Liberation of Angola (FNLA), which was founded second in 1957. UNITA was founded last in 1966.

The start of Savimbi’s career began with his inclusion within the MPLA’s youth division in the 1960s. The MPLA helped Savimbi to mold himself into an ideal activist, and he became a force to be reckoned with. Not only did he receive activist training, but Savimbi was also an experienced soldier. He received military training in China and became a successful guerilla fighter, who used these learned tactics in warfare and became infamous for them. Because of this training, Savimbi drew the attention of both Chinese and American policymakers.

Savimbi’s motives can be brought to question regarding whether he was truly aimed at the liberation of Angola, or if he was simply aimed at procuring an elevated status, or perhaps a more balanced delegation of power. Some of his actions could be called selfish because, even after succeeding in retrieving Angolan Independence, Savimbi continued to wage a war…now against, his former ally, and an organization which he had once been a part of, the MPLA. After Angola declared independence, MPLA assumed control of Angola. Its president became the president of the entirety of Angola and, doubly, Savimbi’s greatest enemy. It has since been found that Savimbi went so far as to sign a pact with Portuguese authorities to help him fight the MPLA. Savimbi’s feud with the MPLA, which lasted from 1974-2002, ended with his death at the hands of the MPLA, or Angolan government.

Much of Angola’s colonial history was molded under the jurisdiction of the empire of Portugal. Especially after the Dutch occupation of the 1640s, the Portuguese stronghold in Angola was sturdier than ever. Their colonial rule during this period lasts for a period of almost three hundred years, reigning over Angola from 1655 until October 20, 1951, when Angola was designated an independent overseas province.

Portuguese interest in Angola initially sparked from its supposed expansion of Gold and other valuable materials. However, they soon found that Angola better served as a labor industry, and deemed slaves as the single-most valuable commodity in that area. Thus, slaves were exported from Angola, most of them destined for Brazil. However, the export of slaves did not last long as the Europeans were able to seize control of much of the Portuguese industry as part of the “scramble for Africa” taking place in the 1880s. Simultaneously, local African ethnic groups force Portuguese settlers into confined areas. As such, the Portuguese are at a disadvantage.

In the nineteenth century, the export of slaves was finally banned in Angola, leading to an end to their richest and most common export. However, the practice of slavery was not abandoned, and the country still attempted to utilize slaves within Angola’s bounds. This was eventually outlawed in 1875. Portuguese control still becomes stronger during this time, however, as the Portuguese are angered by their constant transformation from kingdom to republic.

In answer to a tightening of Portuguese control, in the 1950s and 60s, thee guerrilla groups from to fight of the Portuguese government and to achieve independence for Angola. They are: MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertaccao de Angola), FNLA (Frente Nacional de Libertacao de Angola), and UNITA (Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola). The government’s response to the situation is to send Portuguese peasants into Angola to act as slaves, rather than using the locals. As a result, forced labor is brought to an end, and provisions for education and health for native Africans in increased. In 1975, pressure from the guerilla groups forces Portuguese settlers out of Angola and Agostinho Neto, member of MPLA is deemed president of Angola, the rest of the MPLA being his government.

Little is known of the country of Angola, other than the fact that its inhabitants were mainly living in a Neolithic existence for an extended period of time. In other words, the civilization thrived on hunting and gathering, and they were known as The Khoisan people, before submitting to migrant Bantu cultural practices. The Bantu people who settled here introduced the current inhabitants to iron technology. Archaeologists studying Angola found evidence of the Western Bantu family inhabiting Angola and have found no evidence of any cultures entering the country other than this one, and as a result, Angola’s modern population mainly consists of descendants of the Bantu family.

Thousands of years after Bantu settlers arrived, Angola begins trading with other countries, and is swiftly inhabited by Portuguese settlers. The Portuguese profit from Angola’s natural resources. Initially the Portuguese sought to trade the country’s vast supply of gold, and then they began to trade slaves, which were in high demand at the time. However, the Portuguese had difficulty laying claim to Angola’s resources, as they were in a constant battle with other countries that had already settled there and discovered Angola’s values. These groups included: the Dutch, the British, and the French.

During this time, in the fifteenth century, the slave trade was thriving in Angola and other South African countries. Slaves usually were shipped to Brazil. However, the industry declines in the nineteenth century when the west enforces an embargo on slave trade. This does not, however, stop the Portuguese from enslaving Africans. Slavery in the Portuguese empire remained legal for almost seventy years after it the slave trade was outlawed, and therefore the Portuguese kept enslaved Africans within Angola to work in the Portuguese settlements of Luanda and Benguela.

Subsequent to the embargo, Portuguese settlers also begin to expand their land, and establish plantations. Their main crops were coffee, cotton, and sugar. Local African tribes, the Kongo, the Mbundu, and the Ovambu peoples, waged war on Portuguese settlers when their land is encroached upon, however, causing the country to enter a state of disarray. Native tribes also feel that the Portuguese are attempting to stage a government coup and therefore attack. After years of war, the Portugese, lacking in supplies, loses the war and is mostly pushed out of the country.

Religion in Angola remains mainly Catholic, however as the Portuguese entered into a cooperative relationship with the rulers of the Congo. King Nzinga Nkuwu establishes Catholicism as the main religion of the Congo region, Angola included, as he is baptized during this time. In the sixteeth century, however, when his son, King Afonso Mvmemba Nzinga reigns, he converts the country to Christianity, which becomes the national religion. A church is then built and is dedicated the Savior, Sao Salvador.