#mwila

Mwila women

Mwila/Mwela/Mumuhuila people are a cluster of semi-nomadic ethnic group living in southern Angola, in the area of Huila. Mwila people actually belongs to the larger Nyaneka-Khumbi (Nhaneka-Humbe) amalgamated ethnic inhabiting the Haumpata Plateau and along the headwaters of Rio Caculovar in South Western Angola in Huila Planato or Huila Province, the province that takes it name from the people. 

Mwila women coat their hair with a red paste called, oncula, which is made of crushed red stone. They also put a mix of oil, crushed tree bark, dried cow dung and herbs on their hair, and decorate their hair with beads, cowri shells (real or plastic ones) and even dried food.

Having their forehead shaved is considered as a sign of beauty. Their plaits, which look like dreadlocks, are called nontombi and have a precise meaning. Women or girls usually have four or six nontombi, but when they only have three it means that someone died in their family.

Mumuhuila women are also famous for their mud necklaces, which are important as for each period of their life corresponds a specific type of necklace. When they are young, girls wear heavy red necklaces, made with beads covered with a mix of soil and latex.

Later girls start to wear a set of yellow necklaces called Vikeka, made of wicker covered with earth. They keep it until their wedding, which is a period that can last 4 years. Once married they start to wear a set of stacked up bead necklaces, called Vilanda. Women never take their necklace off and have to sleep with it. They also use headrests to protect their hairstyles.

A married woman and a single woman: note different necklaces

Head rest:

Angola