Maríyarapáxjis: language, gender and homosexuality in Mozambique

Abstract

Maríyarapáxjis is a neologism (derived from the Portuguese expression maria-rapaz) found in the mother tongue of my interlocutors (the Changana language). The expression is mostly applied to men who at first demonstrate some effeminacy, but in recent decades it has also come to name the homosexuals. Although I also analyze other expressions, I choose it as the title of this article because besides being one of the most heard words in the south of the country to name these subjects, it seems to be the epitome of a series of historical processes of institutionalization of male homosexualities in the popular classes of southern Mozambique. This article, the result of ethnographic and linguistic research, seeks to analyze the lexicon of the Changanan and Portuguese languages within the semantic field of homosexuality in southern Mozambique and put them in dialogue with African feminist theories.

Keywords:
Linguistics; Anthropology; History; Sexuality; Africa