ENTRE O CAPITALISMO E A TRADIÇÃO: ACUMULAÇÃO DE RIQUEZAS COMO LINGUAGEM DE PODER NO NORTE DE MOÇAMBIQUE

Abstract

In Northern Mozambique there is a co-presence of capitalism and tradition that allows different forms of accumulation of wealth to overlap. For a major part of the population, the individual accumulation of wealth is, in and by itself, an index of witchcraft. In another way, just as witchcraft, the accumulation of wealth is also a language of power, and one cannot become rich without this bond. From this traditional premise an ethical question arises: distributive actions (or the lack of them) determine whether a person is generous and magnanimous or a dangerous sorcerer. The aim of this article is to describe some of the specific ways in which certain capitalist practices of accumulation intertwines with practices, values, and power relations derived from tradition.