Land of the ancestors

Semiotics, history and space in Chimanimani, Mozambique

Bibliographic Data

ID3978366
AuthorsP Virtanen (0000-0003-4322-1033, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume6
Issue3
Pages357-378
Publication date2005-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial & Cultural Geography (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-9365 • E-ISSN: 1470-1197
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14649360500111246
OpenAlexW2070354494
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited25

Drawing on semiotic theory, the article looks at how space and identity are constituted by different political actors, notably the ruling party and customary authorities, in the context of a transfrontier conservation area in Chimanimani in central Mozambique. Based on radically different geographical and historical ramifications, these actors have arrived at different ideal models for managing access to land and natural resources. However, while conflicts resulting from incompatibility of these models are often reduced to a simple local–global dichotomy, case material from Chimanimani shows how both local communities and the state have been shaped by the interplay of local and non-local forces. The main difference lies in the strategy the political authorities have selected for maintaining continuity in the context of rapid socio-political transition. In the case of the ruling party this takes place through a corpus of selected texts, but in the case of customary authorities through flexibility of the code. Keywords: natural resourcesconservationspacecommunitystateMozambique Acknowledgements The study was funded by the Academy of Finland. I would also like to thank Dr Anja Nygren and the three anonymous reviewers of Social & Cultural Geography for constructive comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Notes 1 This paper is part of a larger study of the role of local communities in natural resource management in Mozambique. During field research for this paper I interviewed members of the TFCA project, provincial and district-level authorities, customary authorities and members of new management institutions. I also participated in a number of project meetings with local communities. I refer to interviews and field visits by indicating the location and date. I carried out the interviews in collaboration with the Manica office of the Cultural Patrimony Archives of Mozambique (ARPAC). José Dimai from ARPAC-Manica translated interviews carried out in a local language (ChiManica or ChiNdau); in addition a few relevant interviews made by ARPAC in my absence are used. 2 Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) was formed in 1962, and it soon assumed leadership in the liberation struggle against the Portuguese colonial power. A peace accord signed in Lusaka in 1974 handed over power to Frelimo without elections, and three years later the front was transformed into a Marxist-Leninist party. 3 Resistencia Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo) was an armed opposition movement originally created by the minority rule regimes of Rhodesia and South Africa, which managed to gain increasing popular support during a protracted civil war (1977–1992). It was transformed into a political party after the peace agreement in Rome. 4 The names of individuals involved in land dispute cases have been changed

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Economics · Epistemology · Flexibility (engineering · Geography · Ideal (ethics · Identity (music · Linguistics · Local History · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Semiotics · Sociology · State (computer science · Computer Science · Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management · Land Rights and Reforms · Law · Water Governance and Infrastructure