Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

In the traditional villages near the border of Gorongosa Park extended families live in small clusters of houses where they share resources and have enough surrounding land to grow crops.  Such family homesteads are often planted with several types of grain crops, a variety of fruit trees, and may also include chickens, ducks, pigs and/or goats.  The families exhibit great resourcefulness to make these small farms succeed in the absence of electricity, reliable water supplies and most technical agricultural inputs.

Mozambique has traditionally been organized into large groups of such households --communities governed by a "régulo," or chief. Most are further divided into three or four areas governed by "sapandas" who in turn oversee smaller areas overseen by "fumos". For example, the Canda community northwest of Park headquarters, with a population of about 20,000, has one regulo, four sapandas and 31 fumos.

The régulos are usually men from respected lineages and are appointed by their families. They are not supposed to be authoritarian rulers but advisors and judges who control their communities' political affairs. Their governance is reinforced by traditional healers who mediate between the spirits and the material world, the past and the present, and communities and their ancestors. The traditional leaders work with the healers to resolve disputes, keep people healthy, and increase crop yields.

The ancestral family leaders are expected to co-exist with Mozambique's central government and its local political representatives. Sofala Province has 12 districts, each with several administrative posts managed by a Chief of Post. District administrators work with régulos to settle major disputes and jointly preside over community meetings. Régulos, sapandas, and fumos help local judges and police officers administer justice and punish delinquents.

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