Matutuíne District is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Maputo Province Maputo is a province of Mozambique; the province excludes the city of Maputo (which comprises a separate province). The province has an area of and a population of 1,968,906 (2017 census). Its capital is the city of Matola. Geography Maputo ...

in southern

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

. The principal town is

Bela Vista Bela Vista (also known as ''Bexiga'' or ''Bixiga'') is one of the most traditional Italian neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. It belongs to the borough of Sé, and it has been a mixed neighborhood since its beginning, where free A ...

. The district is located in the south of the province, and borders with the city of

Maputo Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

in the north, the province of

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in the south,

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

in the west, and with

Namaacha Namaacha or Naamacha is a town in southern Mozambique, lying 80 kilometers west of Maputo on the border with Eswatini. It is located in the Lebombos area. It is known for its Colonialism, colonial Church (building), church and for its waterfall. ...

and

Boane District Boane District is a district of Maputo Province in southern Mozambique. The principal town is Boane. The district is located in the center of the province, and borders with Moamba District in the north, the city of Matola in the northeast, Matut ...

s in the northwest. In the east, the district is limited by the Indian Ocean. The area of the district is . This is the southernmost district of Mozambique. It has a population of 37,165 as of 2007.

Geography

The principal rivers in the district are the

Maputo River The Maputo River (), also called Great Usutu River, Lusutfu River, or Suthu River, is a river in South Africa, Eswatini, and Mozambique. The name ''Suthu'' refers to Basotho people who lived near the source of the river, but were attacked and disp ...

and the

Tembe River The Tembe River () is situated in the Maputo Province, Mozambique. Together with the rivers Matola River, Matola, Mbuluzi River, Umbuluzi, and Infulene River, Infulene, it forms the Estuário do Espírito Santo, where the capital Maputo is located ...

. There are several lakes in the district. The climate is subtropical, with the annual rainfall being around at the coast and in the interior.

History

The area has been recorded in the 17th century as populated by Machavane people. In the 18th century it was conquered by a local chief Maputsu. By the 18th century, the Mashabane (or Maxabane) chiefdom emerged as a significant player in the region, having splintered from the Nyaka Kingdom. Mashabane controlled areas overlapping with Matutuíne and its surroundings, adding to the constellation of

Tsonga people The Tsonga people () are a Bantu ethnic group primarily native to Southern Mozambique and South Africa (Limpopo and Mpumalanga). They speak Xitsonga, a Southern Bantu language. A very small number of Tsonga people are also found in Zimbabwe ...

chiefdoms noted by Portuguese and Dutch observers, alongside Matsolo and Mabota. This period of relative stability was disrupted in the early 19th century during the M’pfekani (Mfecane), a wave of upheaval triggered by Nguni expansion. In the 1820s,

Soshangane Soshangana Ka Gasa Zikode (), born Soshangana Nxumalo, was the founder and first monarch of the Gaza Empire, which, at its peak, spanned from the Limpopo River in southern Mozambique to the Zambezi River in the north. He ruled the Gaza state fro ...

, a Ndwandwe Nguni general, arrived in Tsongaland. Instead of returning, he established the Gaza Empire, incorporating many Tsonga communities, including those in Matutuíne. Subsequently, the Portuguese took over the administration. In the 1940s, the district was divided into three postos, in the 1960s one more was added.

Demographics

As of 2005, 39% of the population of the district was younger than 15 years. 38% of the population spoke Portuguese. The most common mothertongue among the population was Xirhonga, which is part of

Tsonga language Tsonga ( ) or Xitsonga as an endonym and exonym, endonym (also known as Changana in Mozambique), is a Bantu languages, Bantu language spoken by the Tsonga people of South Africa and . It is mutually intelligible with Tswa language, Tswa a ...

. 64% were analphabetic, mostly women.

Administrative divisions

The district is divided into five postos, Missevene (four localities, including Bela Vista), Catembe-Nsime (two localities), Catuane (two localities),

Machangulo The Machangulo peninsula is situated in the southernmost part of Mozambique adjacent to Inhaca and Portuguese Islands in the Maputo Bay Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of ...

(two localities), and Zitundo (two localities).

Economy

3% of the households in the district have access to electricity.

Agriculture

In the district, there are 7,000 farms which have on average of land. The main agricultural products are corn,

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

cowpea The cowpea (''Vigna unguiculata'') is an annual herbaceous legume from the genus '' Vigna''. Its tolerance for sandy soil and low rainfall have made it an important crop in the semiarid regions across Africa and Asia. It requires very few inpu ...

, peanut, and sweet potato.

Transportation

There is a road network in the district long, which includes stretches of national roads EN3 (, connecting Boane and Catuane), EN201 (), EN202 (, to Bela Vista), as well as secondary roads. A new port primarily for the export of coal was approved in 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matutuine District Districts in Maputo Province