Land tenure and identity change in postwar Mozambique

Abstract

For largely agricultural societies in subSaharan Africa, land and attachments to land play a fundamental role in the identity of individuals and groups. Forced dislocation from land and ‘home areas’ during war, and subsequent attempts at reintegration following an end to armed conflict is therefore an important influence in identity change. With data gathered in postwar Mozambique, this article considers the ways that the land tenure dynamic following armed conflict influences identity change within the recovering customary agricultural population. Following a review of the relationship between land tenure and identity, the paper provides a brief background of the situation in Mozambique and then, using quantitative data from a social survey, case study reports, and literature sources, looks at the land tenure influences on attempts at rural reintegration and the subsequent impacts on identity. These influences include: smallholder-largeholder interaction over land resources, state ownership of land, postwar development efforts, and the situation of demobilized combatants.