Angola

Landmines defy logic and decency. Planted like seeds, children are maimed and the innocent indiscriminately killed. Bringing no justice, they are cruel. 

Colonization, slavery, and war devastate countries and Angola is among those hardest hit by these stark realities of human civilization. The Portuguese colonized Angola in 1575. The name came from the word “ngola,” a title designating the kings of Ndongo in the highlands between the Cuanza and Lukala Rivers. Soon, Angolan natives were shipped to Brazil and Portugal as slaves. Four hundred years later, in 1975, Angola won its freedom from Portugal only to begin 27 years of civil war among the Marxist-Leninist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). 

The legacy of all of these years of war is over 100 million square meters of land with millions of landmines and other unexploded bombs. The organization HALO decommissioned almost 100,000 since 1994. Efforts continue. To remove landmines completely from around the world would take an estimated 100 years. 

Another casualty of the years of war in Angola is its elephant population. Sold for ivory to fund the various war factions, elephant numbers have dwindled to an estimated 3,300 in the southeastern part of the country, down from roughly 70,000 pre-war.

It is difficult to have a national identity with so much war and danger, however, often strife presses a nation to determine one. Angolanidade is the term for the national identity of Angola crafted by its writers, intellectuals, and musicians.

In the late 1940s, the Angolan poet and politician Viriato da Cruz developed a literary movement with the slogan “Let’s Discover Angola!” The first president of Angola, Agostinho Neto, also a poet, was a writer within this movement. Music, dance, writing, fashion are central expressions of Angolanidade. 

Rebita is an upbeat accordian and harmonica music and dance that originated from the spit off the shore of Luanda called Ilha de Luanda (or Ilha do Cabo). Before the arrival of the Portuguese, the spit was an important location to collect the shells called zimbo that were used as currency by the Kongo king.

Semba is a traditional music and dance that comes from the word “Massemba” meaning “a touch of the bellies.” It may be a precursor to the Brazilian samba. José Adelino Barceló de Carvalho, known as Bonga, popularized this music.

Kizomba became popular in the 1990s. It is a slower form of Semba, perhaps the most sensual dance form in the world. Kuduro gained popularity around the same time and is uptempo and energetic. 

With the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola became the fastest growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest growing in the world thanks to its rich oil and diamond resources. China is Angola’s biggest trade partner. Most of the oil reserves are in Angola’s exclave to the north, Cabinda.

The country’s wealthiest woman is Isabel dos Santos, who runs the Sonagol Group that oversees petroleum and natural gas in Angola, and who also happens to be the daughter of Angola’s president for 38 years, José Eduardo dos Santos. He stepped down in 2017, appointing a replacement to be Angola’s third president. In the regime change, Isabel dos Santos came under scrutiny in what is called Luanda Leaks. There is concern that she received unfair advantages from her father that contributed to her wealth. Additionally, most of Angola’s people live in poverty and would like the nation’s wealth to benefit its people.

Angola is in the southern hemisphere in a tropical zone and struggles with the impact of drought. It has two seasons: 1. Rainfall from November to April, and 2. Cacimbo: drought from May to October when it is drier and colder. There is more rain and heat in the north. 

Some of Angola’s attractions with links to learn more:
The Black Rocks at Pungo Andongo near Malanje
Kalandula Falls near Malanje
The Viewpoint of the Moon, 40 km south of Luanda
Coatinha Beach and Cliffs in Benguela
Tundavala Gap near Lubango
Tchitundo-Hulu cave with prehistoric cave art near Namibe
Ruacana Falls, near Namibe on the border with Namibia, must be planned at a time when there is enough water that a visit is worthwhile

Angola’s staple food is funge (or funje), a cassava flour porridge that accompanies many meals. Cassava is the starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree. Note that cassava must be peeled and thoroughly cooked or it can be deadly.
The Best of Angolan Food – What to Eat in Angola?
10 Favourite Foods of Angola

Angolan literature:
The Best Books on Angola: Start Your Reading Here
Interview with Ondjaki

More Angolan music:
Angolan music from the 1970s
David Zé

Additional resources:
About Angola
The Poet and the Engineer: Forty Years of Angolan Independence
The Best Things to Do in Angola
Angola – A Travel Guide to Luanda, Kalandula Falls and Pedras Negras
Fun and Interesting Facts About Angola
20 Things to Know Before You Go to Luanda

A poem by Angola’s first president, Agostinho Neto:

Havemos de voltar Às casas, às nossas lavras às praias, aos nossos campos havemos de voltar Às nossas terras vermelhas do café brancas de algodão verdes dos milharais havemos de voltar Às nossas minas de diamantes ouro, cobre, de petróleo havemos de voltar Aos nossos rios, nossos lagos às montanhas, às florestas havemos de voltar À frescura da mulemba às nossas tradições aos ritmos e às fogueiras havemos de voltar À marimba e ao quissange ao nosso carnaval havemos de voltar À bela pátria angolana nossa terra, nossa mãe havemos de voltar Havemos de voltar À Angola libertada Angola independente

We shall return To the houses, to our crops, to the beaches, to our fields we shall return To our lands Red with coffee White with cotton Green with maize fields we shall return To our mines of diamonds Gold, copper, oil we shall return To our rivers, our lakes our mountains, our forests we shall return To the shade of the mulemba To our traditions To the rhythms and bonfires we shall return To the marimba and the quissange to our carnival we shall return To our beautiful Angolan homeland our land, our mother we shall return We shall return to liberated Angola independent Angola

CHAGAS DE SALITRE Olha-me este país a esboroar-se em chagas de salitre e os muros, negros, dos fortes roídos pelo vegetar da urina e do suor da carne virgem mandada cavar glórias e grandeza do outro lado do mar. Olha-me a história de um país perdido: marés vazantes de gente amordaçada a ingénua tolerância aproveitada em carne. Pergunta ao mar que é manso e afaga ainda a mesma velha costa erosionada. Olha-me as brutas construções quadradas: embarcadouros, depósitos de gente. Olha-me os rios renovados de cadáveres os rios turvos do espesso deslizar dos braços e das mães do meu país. Olha-me igrejas agora restauradas sobre ruínas de propalada fé: paredes brancas de um urgente brio escondendo ferros de amarrar gentio. Olha-me a noite herdada nestes olhos e um povo condenado a amassar-te o pão. Olha-me amor, atenta podes ver uma história de pedra a construir-se sobre uma história morta a esboroar-se em chagas de salitre.  by Ruy Duarte de Carvalho

SALTPETER SORES Look at this country reducing itself to dust, to saltpeter sores and the blackened walls of the battlements gnawed by the vegetate of urine and sweat of virgin meat sent to dig splendors and grandeur on the other side of the ocean. Look at the history of a lost country: tides of the gagged at a low ebb, the naïve tolerance exploited in flesh. Ask the sea, still serene, and caressing the same old eroded coast. Look at the square brutal buildings: the wharfs, people-depositories. Look at the rivers refitted with cadavers the rivers turbid with the dense flow of arms and mothers of my country. Look at the churches newly restored on top of the ruins of a propagated faith: white walls of an urgent dignity hiding shackles for binding the heathen. Look at the night inherited by these eyes and a people condemned to kneading your bread. Look, love, if you’re attentive, you’ll see a history of stone building itself on top of a history of death reducing itself to dust, to saltpeter sores.   translated by Martin Earl