Abstract
Through the analyses of newspapers and literary texts, this article aims to reflect on practices, cultural exchanges and conflicts in the funeral ceremonies that took place in Luanda and its surrounding area from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. It is based upon three social categories: settlers (metropolitans and descendants), children of the earth (who were born in Angola, and dominated European cultural codes), and gentiles (Africans who did not dominate European cultural codes, had no access to the rights of Portuguese citizenship, and could be subjected to forced labor). In a context of an increasing Portuguese presence, and the subalternity of both native elites and gentiles, funerals were privileged occasions to express differences and common sharing. Through the funeral practices, a number of social groups claimed their identities and encouraged cultural exchanges. This not only led to conflicts and domination, but also hybrid forms of the treatment of death, which it is stressed as an important feature of the Luanda's urban culture.
Keywords
funeral practices,; Angola; colonial expansion