Threatening Alliances: Portuguese Ethnography of Indigenous Associative Life in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (1945-1974)

Ethnography is widely recognised as essential to the analysis of colonial representations and policies in Africa. Though many studies have been conducted since the end of WWII, few have explored these sources on African civil society. This article aims to historicise the evolution of Portuguese colonial knowledge on indigenous associational life. The approach is based on the anthropological and sociological research carried out by academic and governmental elites who, from the onset of the decolonization process, began to seriously consider indigenous collective action. Following the comprehensive investigations that were conducted in the 1950s in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea, in-depth research was undertaken in Luanda and Lourenco Marques (now Maputo), as part of local development projects. This article illustrates how, under Portuguese colonialism, indigenous associations were initially perceived as a threat-until they became an invaluable tool in promoting the acculturation of "detribalized" populations. Through critical engagement with post-WWII colonial knowledge, this paper provides fresh insight into how the colonial process was instrumental in shaping African civil society.