Imani e a construção da identidade moçambicana em Mulheres de cinzas, de Mia Couto

Abstract

The narratives about the Mozambican nation and memories have contributed to shaping national images and, consequently, the country's identity. Mia Couto is an important author due to his literary production and the role he played during the post-independence period of Mozambique. His literature plays a significant role in the process of constructing a national identity by revaluing traditional customs and reclaiming elements of the culture. Mulheres de Cinzas is the first novel in the As areias do Imperador, trilogy, which provides the perspective of Imani, a woman who experiences the arrival of colonizers and the process of resistance and acculturation endured by her people. In this sense, the objective of this work is to understand the presence of a Mozambican identity by investigating the markers related to the protagonist. Drawing on important concepts of nation and identity elaborated by Hobsbawm (2020) and Hall (2009), along with a brief study of Mozambican history and literature, the analysis of the work was conducted. From what was observed, it was possible to recognize the existence of an identity marked by hybridity, a result of contact with the colonizing world. Cultural assimilation emerged as a determining factor in shaping an identity in constant construction, through the adoption of European language and customs.