O Unyago na educação da menina/mulher entre o povo Yaawo da província do Niassa, Moçambique

Abstract

In Mozambique, cultural practices, especially traditional ones, that characterize each people and their ethnic lineage, are still not very visible in the school environment, although there is a resolution in and for the valorization of the same. Probably, it is still fragments of what the colonizer had placed in the minds of Mozambican natives as a "prerequisite" for them to become assimilated or civilized, abandoning every form of cultural practice of their people, because it was considered obscure and retrograde. The Unyago, rite of initiation [that consists in…], is also part of the culture of the Yaawo people.which manifestation, obviously, is prohibited. At the present time, there is a speech by the government regarding respect for practice, since it allows for its realization, but since it is performed during a school vacation. This would allow many children not to drop out of school at the expense of going to school, which has led to increased school dropout. Even so, in rural areas there has been no show of adherence from community leaders, as many children have not resumed school after school holidays because they find themselves being held in the initiation rites camps. In them, initiates receive teachings of how they should be and be in and for the community. In the case of girls, when they leave the ritualistic process, among many teachings assimilated is that of being good mothers, housewives, good wife’s of their husbands and above all obedience to the opposite sex.From the above, problematizing knowledge that is considered invalid and those that deserve to be validated (SANTOS, 2010), is of paramount importance, in an attempt to show that the "different" from Unyago also deserves respect and voice. Because it is a ritual for the passage of the Yao people, similar to others from other peoples and around the world. PEIRANO (2003), BÀ, COSSA (2014), CHIZIANE (2014), CASTIANO (2005) among others, Mozambican Laws, National, International Conventions and legal instruments will be the basis of analysis and reading. The passage, participation and submission of the researcher in the ritual, the dialogue with people who have passed through the Unyago, researchers like the Danish Signe Anrfred allowed to have a broader understanding about this practice, which for them is something vital of their existences and deserves to be respected.