To the commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the imprisonment and exile of Gaza king Ngungunhane (1895) correspond the return of monuments and graffities in central areas of different Mozambican cities. Contemporary in Terceira Island (Azores, Portugal) the final exile place, was built a monument unique in his kind in Portuguese soil. In Mozambique the return of imageries of the last Gaza King follows the destruction (1975) of colonial monuments linked to his imprisonment and the monument building commemorating the century anniversary (1995-97) of the end of the kingdom. The raise of the 2020 iconography is somehow unexpected. It is spread in three different provinces, from south to centre, with substantial symbolic differences. In Chimoio, capital of Manica province was built the biggest statue of the city, in Gaza province graffities brought new elements to the already existent representations, while in Inhambane the king and the former oppressor appears together in a graffiti to sensitize about the “common enemy covid-19”. Therefore, the main question of the paper is: “what this imagery can tell us about the mentality of this era?”. The purpose is to analyse the dialogue between the different representations made through decades, stressing the points of continuity and the symbolic distinctions of artistic commemorations in different historical and political context. This examination may disclose peculiarities of collective memories mechanisms in the Mozambican case; as well it can help to reflect on how the public discourse about colonialism and the Scramble for Africa changed through the years.

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Gungunhana,Moçambique,Colonialismo,Pós-colonialismo,Iconografia