Angola is one of the main oil producers of Africa . This southern African country struggles to advance despite the hard physical, political and social legacy of a civil war that devastated the country for 27 years. Join us to know 20 Curiosities about Angola that maybe you did not know until now and discover a territory that hides places of great beauty.
Curiosities about Angola
Angola currently has almost 25 million inhabitants and its official name is the Republic of Angola. We have divided these curiosities about Angola in sections to facilitate reading. We hope you like them!
Curiosities about Angola geographical and political
1. The names for the natives of Angola are Angolan and Angolan, however in Cuba , which had a close relationship with that country during the Angola War , they were called Angolan and Angolan and R.A.E. accept also this variant of the name.
2. During the Angolan War, between 1975 and 1991, about 450,000 Cubans, including combatants and civilian collaborators, were in Angola.
3. The majority of the inhabitants of Angola come from towns of Bantu origin.
4. The Bantus of Angola are divided into 9 groups with ethnolinguistic differences: the quicongo, quimbundu, lunda-quioco, mbundo, ganguela, nhanheca-humbe, ambó, herero and xindonga. These groups are subdivided into smaller branches which is what is known as tribes.
5. One of the curiosities about Angola It is the origin of his name. It derives from the word Kimbundu "N'gola" which means "king".
7. Another of the curiosities about Angola is that a small part of the country is separated from the rest. The Province of Cabinda is in the middle of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
8. The Ruacana waterfalls on the Angolan-Namibia border were one of the country's attractions before they built a dam further up that left them virtually without water most of the year.
9. In Angola live the giant saber antelope that was thought to be extinct.
Angola War
10. The Angola War It lasted 27 years. It began after the independence of Portugal in 1975 and subjected the country to a very hard and bloody Civil War until 2002.
11. One of the consequences of Angola War it has been the shortage of men, so it is not unusual for a man to have several wives, although not officially, since polygamy is not recognized by law. It is expected that in the next generations this situation will be reversed and this gender inequality will be balanced.
The Angola Flag and the national tree
12. The Flag of Angola It is red, black and gold. The red part symbolizes the blood of the Angolans killed in combat, the black represents the people of Angola and the gold forms the drawing of a cogwheel by industry, a machete by the peasantry and a star taken from the old flag of the U.S.S.S.
13. In addition to the Angola flag , the country has as a symbol a tree: the imbodeiro or baobab . It grows throughout the country and is reflected in numerous local works of art.
Capital of Angola
14. The capital of Angola is Luanda . It is on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and has about 6.5 million inhabitants. The Portuguese founded it in 1575.
15. The capital of Angola It is one of the most expensive cities in the world if you expect to live in the Western style.
Language of Angola
16. The language of Angola It is officially Portuguese, although the tribes speak many other languages such as Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo and Tchokwe.
Angolan food
17. The angolan food It consists of basic ingredients such as beans, corn flour with which they make funge and pirao, rice, vegetables (okra, tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes ...), fish and pork and chicken. The Angolan cuisine is influenced by the Portuguese due to the centuries it was a Portuguese colony.
18. One of the typical dishes of the angolan food It is the "cabidela". The cooking is done with a blood base and served with rice and funge. The meat is usually chicken.
Culture of Angola
19. The Angola culture It is very varied, although due to the war it has been very diminished. One of the cultural curiosities of Angola is the Semba. The Semba is the traditional music of Angola and apparently is the origin of the Brazilian samba. They are very similar.
20. Another distinctive feature of the Angola culture are the hairstyles. The style "dreadlocks" or rastas was born in the country. It is the traditional way of combing women in the Mwila and Mucubal tribes. They braid the hair and then use ocher colored mud, dried manure, herbs, butter and oil to hold the hair forming patterns with the dreadlocks.
Did you know this curiosities about Angola ? Do you know any more? Share it with us!
Images: ImperatoM , Paulo César Santos , David Stanley , Adriao