The construction of the nation-state in Angola

the case of religious Angolanity

Abstract

Before the arrival of the Portuguese, the territory that is now called Angola was inhabited by different peoples who built States, the best known being Kongo, Ndongo, Wíla, Humbe, the Lunda empire and the confederation of Ovimbundu States. The disorganization and destruction of these States is attributed to the Portuguese, as the African States did not resist the long years of slave trade and colonization. After the Berlin Conference, the Portuguese designated all the territories conquered in the south of the Kongo State of Angola. In the national liberation struggle that followed, the peoples embraced territorial nationalism, which is why they maintained the borders inherited from colonialism shortly after independence, intending to constitute themselves as a nation-state. Building the nation-state in Angola is a process that goes a long way. It is noted that religion took the lead in this construction, as in the anti-colonial struggle a group of religious leaders headed by the prophet Simão Gonçalves Toco resisted the gospel of colonization, creating the foundations of the Angolan religious identity described here by Angolanidade Regiosa. The study seeks to answer the question _ On what basis is the construction of religious Angolanity? The objective of the text was to analyze the foundations for the construction of religious Angolanity. This is a qualitative research, whose technical procedure is bibliographical research. The research results allow us to infer that the bases of religious Angolanity fit into the project designed by Simão Gonçalves Toco, which managed to unite the people of Angola under a single religion, without distinction, shared the cultural elements of the four socio-cultural spaces of Angola creating a religion where everyone feels at home. It is concluded that the foundations for the construction of Religious Angolanity are based on the sharing of cultural traits that put different cultures in permanent dialogue, thus creating the Tocoist culture, the foundation of Religious Angolanity.