Culture of Mozambique everyday lifestyles of Portugal. A new phenomenon of spirit possession appeared after the Mozambican Civil War. These spirits, called "gamba", are identified as dead soldiers, and overwhelmingly possess women. Prior to the war, spirit possession was limited to certain families and was less common. Culture of Mozambique The culture of Mozambique is in large part derived from its history of Bantu, Swahili, and Portuguese rule, and has expanded since independence in 1975. The majority of its inhabitants are black Africans. Its main language is Portuguese. Its median religion is Roman Catholicism, but only about 40% of the inhabitants are Christian.
Ethnic Chinese in Mozambique colony had to pay a disembarkation fee of 3,000 "reals" at their port of arrival. Nevertheless, Chinese population continued to grow, to 287 by 1903. By 1928, there were 314 Chinese in Lourenço Marques alone, rising to 483 by 1935 and 570 by 1940. The vast majority started out in the carpentry trade, but soon moved into shopkeeping. They established five different community associations and a Chinese-language elementary school for their children. By the early 1970s, the eve of independence, there were 5,000 Chinese in Mozambique, with 2,000 in Lourenço Marques and another 3,000 in Beira. After Mozambique achieved independence