À procura de Moçambique no Museu Nacional de Etnologia, Portugal

The Museu de Etnologia do Ultramar (Museum of Overseas Ethnology) – now called Museu Nacional de Etnologia (National Museum of Ethnology) – was inaugurated in 1965, in Lisbon. Its creation was mainly due to the action of the anthropologist Jorge Dias and his team of collaborators, more specifically a campaign to Mozambique, developed within the Mission for the Study of Ethnic Minorities (1958-1961). This paper aims at understanding the relationship between the presence and the invisibility of Mozambique in the Museu Nacional de Etnologia, through the current collections of the museum, temporary exhibitions related to Mozambique held over time, and the current permanent exhibition. The emergence of the Museu de Etnologia do Ultramar and the conditions in which it was established are put into context; a review of its evolution through a panoramic analysis of the several exhibitions that included objects from Mozambique and that were organised throughout over 50 years of existence is conducted; a study of the permanent exhibition “O Museu, muitas coisas”, held since 2013 is done. It is concluded that Mozambique plays a significant role in the Museu Nacional de Etnologia, either due to its collections and material documents, and the many exhibitions organised by the museum throughout its history. Nevertheless, Mozambique is almost absent from its permanent exhibition, and the interpretation of the few items in exhibition needs to be revised, as it is anchored to the aesthetics of the objects, and does not promote any kind of critical thinking.