Original scientific paper
“Things Haven’t Been the Same for 500 Years…”: Reflections on Integration and Identity Constructions of Angolans in Portugal
João Sardinha
; CEMRI, University Aberta, Lisbon, Portugal
Abstract
The article explores the integration and identity constructions of Angolans in Portugal as perceived by Angolan association leaders in the host country. The findings are the result of multi-sited ethnographic research and in-depth, semi-structured interviews carried out in Portugal during a four year period (a first phase in 2004–2005 with further follow-up periods in 2006 and 2007) with leaders of Angolan associations. Set within the frameworks of identification and integration concepts, the article starts by theoretically examining and reviewing these topics. The second part of the text is dedicated to the revision of Portuguese/Angolan relations through time, aiming to shed light on how centuries of contact between the two countries divided Angolan society, leading to the creation of Angolan sub-communities as is very much evident in the migratory waves of Angolans to Portugal. In the third part, the empirical analysis, the author first analyses host/guest cultural differentiation and host-society acceptance. In addition, strategies of integration and identity as preferred and adopted by the Angolan community in Portugal are examined. The author argues that, despite the 500 years of a turbulent relationship with Portugal and Portuguese culture, Angolans in Portugal feel that centuries of contact have left a cultural imprint on their identity. As a result, in the present day, these Angolans do not see themselves as Angolans exclusively, but are instead a hybridity of cultural references drawn from both their Angolan and Portuguese worlds, propagating that this is a process containing very positive aspects.
Keywords
Angolans; Portugal; integration; identity; post-colonialism
Hrčak ID:
60863
URI
Publication date:
30.8.2010.
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