A stone and a mirror. A bit of water, a small bowl made from coconut shell, a tiny brush crafted from the fruit’s fibrous husk — these are the tools needed to make mussiro.
It is prepared from the stem of a tree, which is scraped against a smooth, slightly moistened stone. As the shavings accumulate, drops of water are added to moisten the mixture, gradually forming a paste with a consistency soft enough to be applied gently onto the body.
On Ibo Island, young women gather to prepare the mussiro, which they use to adorn their faces — and, in one case, also their arms.
On the audio recording, one can hear the sounds of the preparation and grinding of the paste before it is applied:
We are in northern Mozambique, in the Quirimbas Archipelago, close to the border with Tanzania. The use of mussiro among women of the Macua ethnic group is not only for aesthetic purposes but also serves as skincare.
Its application is common throughout this region of Cabo Delgado province, as well as along the southeastern coast of Tanzania and the Zanzibar Archipelago.
The session was arranged in advance, and the recording follows the arrival of the protagonists, from the preparations to the moment when the mussiro dried. When I took these photographs in 1996, Francisco Leal captured the sound. This material was collected for the Culturas do Índico exhibition, promoted by the Comissão dos Descobrimentos as part of the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Vasco da Gama’s voyage to India.
Ibo island. Mozambique. 1996 © Jorge Murteira. All rights reserved.
Ibo island. Mozambique. 1996 © Jorge Murteira. All rights reserved.