A família patriarcal

: um estudo teológico-histórico-socio-cultural no contexto moçambicano

Abstract

The family is considered in the context of the Macua people as the basis of sociability, selfaffirmation, and growth of all members that compose it. It is also a place of transmission of cultural values and customs. But the people who suffered before with the colonial situation and later with the civil wars, never stopped living their culture the way it was inherited from their ancestors in terms of knowledge, relationships, and rules of conduct. It is about the Mozambican people that the dissertation speaks, specifically about the Macua people, focusing, in a special way, on the patriarchal family. Marriage is understood as a means of mutual help between the fiancés and between the families; as well as a means of procreation, maintenance, and family security.
The fundamental purpose of this paper is to reflect on the patriarchal family, based on a theological-historical-socio-cultural study. As far as the theological study is concerned, the Macua people believe in the existence of a Supreme God, the Creator, Origin and End of all existence. The historical study is based on the belief that since ancient times, the Macua people have believed that their origin dates back to Mount Namuli. The sociological study consists in the co-existence of the Macua people in societies organized by clans and tribes. The cultural study is based on the daily life of the Macua people where the extended family is part of the nuclear family, despite the fact that the same people have many ramifications or subdivisions. They have their origin, though, in a common ancestor coming from Mount Namuli.

Date of Award	7 Dec 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Jerónimo Trigo (Supervisor)