Por trás de uma performance: O Tufo da Mafalala (Behind a performance: Tufo of Mafalala) is an invitation to enter into the backstage of an expressive practice strongly linked to the past, present and future of Mafalala’s neighbourhood in Maputo, Mozambique. This traditional Mozambican dance of Arabic origins is practiced by a group of Makhuwa women that came to this neighbourhood from the the north-eastern province of Nampula. The dance has its unique practices and rituals that usually go unnoticed in the eyes of the audience involving the make-up, the selection of capulanas (traditional dress), the composition of the music and the lyrics. These elements inscribe tufo as a space of sociability and intimacy, generating women’s dreams and reflecting a history of conflict that unfolds in the artistic expression of the dance.

Por trás de uma performance: O Tufo da Mafala results from the collaboration between the Grupo de Tufo da Mafalala, the Associação IVERCA and researchers in the field of sonic arts and ethnography from Queen’s University Belfast. Through collaborative research that consists of interviews, field recordings, video and photography, this performance presents the personal stories of these women and deconstructs the various rituals that this practice involves. By articulating different forms of knowledge (traditional, scientific, artistic), Por trás de uma performance aims at producing (an)other knowledge of tufo that transcends writing. Thus, it embraces the group’s initial ambition: to expand its own practice in order to break with tradition and move forward to the future. Visit the project’s website here