Noémia de Sousa: “Mythical figure” whose memory remains alive in Mozambique

ANDm in front of the mural that holds the face of Carolina Noémia Abrantes de Sousa Soares (1926-2002) in Mafala, district of the city of Maputo where the writer lived, in a wooden and zinc house, in the 1940s, Tomás Vieira Mário recalls more than a writer: it evokes the woman, the presence and the gestures of a figure that marked a generation.

“Noémia is in the group of great figures of her time, in the creation of national consciousness”, says, in an interview with Lusa, Tomás Vieira Mário, pointing out the poet, of whom she was a friend, as one of the fundamental voices in the affirmation of the notion of nation, by defending: “we are not Portugal, we are an African country”.

In a nostalgic tone, the writer recalls the first contact with Noahmia, affectionately remembered as “mother of Mozambican poets”, when he came to Mozambique 10 years after independence (1975): “he was a mythical figure for all of us”.

Remember that at the time, the writer was known only for books and poems, “the only woman poet in Mozambique”, while young writers wondered: “who will be this Noemia de Sousa so spoken in books”.

A central figure in Mozambican literature, Noémia de Sousa stated in the 1950s and 1960s with a poetry of strong identity and nationalist burden, having collaborated in this period with the newspaper Brado Africano, an influential organ of the African press in Lourenço Marques during the colonial period, and seeing his work gathered later in Black Blood, published in 2001.

He left Lourenço Marques, now Maputo, to Portugal in 1964, at a time of growing colonial repression that led several intellectuals to leave the territory, returning to the country only in the 1980s.

“At the time we were all young, associated with Aemo, writers. Then we went around the airport, welcoming her at the airport enthusiastically”, describes Vieira Mário, sharing that later, as a journalist, she moved to Portugal to work as a correspondent of the Mozambique Information Agency (AIM) in Lisbon, a period in which she deepened her relationship with Noémia de Sousa.

As colleagues in the profession, with Noémia working as a journalist at ANOP (who was in the genesis of the Lusa agency), in 1986 and 1987, Tomás Vieira Mário tells that friendship deepened, giving way to convivialities marked by laughter, stories and learning, in the house of the poet, in Algés, in the outskirts of Lisbon, which also included her sister, Camila de Sousa.

“ They were two very nice ladies and I went there on Saturdays to live with her, make good food”, he says, evoking the Indian origin of Noémia, visible in the dishes “very spicy and very tasty” that he prepared.

On Saturdays, he recalls, “very lively sessions of conversation” occurred, in an environment where there were no shortage of stories, memories of Maputo and moments of conviviality around the table.

Noahmia, recalls, had “an easy laugh” and an open presence, marked by great willingness for dialogue and sharing, stressing: “It was someone we could talk to all afternoon, laughing, telling stories”.

In addition to the intellectual dimension, there were personal traits that distinguished her, such as her liberal and open posture to the world, which was unusual at that time. “He was a very liberal person, smoking cigarettes. At the time it was not very common for a woman to smoke cigarettes and was a journalist, so a person very open to the world ", says.

Among the memories are also the direct and critical comments he made about his time and his contemporaries, reflecting an attentive and interventional thought. And more than isolated episodes, what remains, according to Vieira Mário, is the image of a woman who, despite the long trajectory of life, maintained “a lot of inner energy” and a strong ability to connect with others.

“ It has a very clear space in our cultural and political history. She is a pioneer in making us aware that we are a nation, we can and we want to be free”, says Vieira Mário, among the buzz of the daily life of Mafala, historical district of Maputo that welcomed figures such as Samora Machel (1933-1986) and Joaquim Chissano, and that intersects with the roots of the writer, born in Catembe, on the other side of Maputo Bay.

In the context of the centenary, Mário believes that the evocation of the author should serve to value not only his work, but also the broader contribution of the intellectual Mozambican woman: “She is a woman who affirms herself as an intellectual, with a very strong Africanist and nationalist poetry”.

“The centenary of Noahmia must be a time to exalt its pioneering work, to exalt above all the contribution of intellectual Mozambican women in our nationalism, to exalt our multiculturalism, which is what it represents,” he says.

For Tomás Vieira Mário, the legacy of Noémia de Sousa remains current, especially in the affirmation of Mozambican dignity and identity, expressed in ideas such as “I am Mozambican, I am African, from head to toe”, highlighting the author’s “emancipatory spirit”, which advocated that the Mozambican should affirm his place in the world without feeling inferiorized.

Even after his death on December 4, 2002, in Cascais, Portugal, Noémia de Sousa remains an indispensable figure in Mozambique's cultural and political history, leaving a legacy that continues to pass through generations and shaping the country's identity.