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overlapping rights and determine who will hold the land. This will be an expensive and
politically difficult process.
B. ACCESS UNDER CUSTOMARY LAND LAW
1. CUSTOMARY RULES AND LAND ACCESS
Parallel to the formal or statutory land-tenure system are customary regimes of land
tenure that are based largely on local traditions and procedures. As elsewhere in Africa,
Mozambique has numerous customary land-tenure regimes, which taken together constitute
its customary land-tenure sector. These regimes differ remarkably from location to location
depending on a variety of factors, including population density, kinship organization,
inheritance patterns (i.e., matrilineal or patrilineal), land quality, markets, and historical
experience. Customary regimes also differ from ethnic group to ethnic group depending on
the social evolution of that group and the political and economic constraints encountered. The
civil war after independence (with its concurrent displacement of more than 6 million people),
droughts, government policy, and recent economic changes also affect customary rules. 91
This section focuses on general characteristics of customary land tenure as they apply to our
discussion of land access.
Land held under customary tenure is often held by the group, community, lineage, or
clan. Sometimes it is held by the family, and sometimes by the individual. Land that is held
by the community (or lineage, clan, or family) is not necessarily held under communal
tenure. This is a misinterpretation often made in Mozambique. Government officials have
frequently justified communal villages (aldeias comunais) as a result of this fundamental
misunderstanding of local social organizations and relationships. 92 In reality, even though
land is held by the community, families and individuals usually have greater control and are
responsible for the day-to-day management of the resource.
While the lineage or other community hierarchy may have the power to approve or
disapprove of land alienation, the families or individuals may negotiate many types of land
transaction on their holdings. These rights include leasing, borrowing, and lending.
Landholders may also sell certain tenure rights while not selling the land itself. In response
91. This paper does not discuss the historical evolution of formal (statutory) and informal (customary) tenure
and legal systems in Mozambique. While these subjects are important—and indeed have an impact on our
discussion—they are beyond the scope of this paper. See Moiane (1994); Lundin (1992a, 1992b, 1993); Carrilho
(1991, 1993); Amaral (1990); Coissoro (1966, 1987); Dias and Dias (n.d.); Isaacman and Isaacman (1977,
1983); Curtin et al. (1981); and Alpers (1969).
For a partial discussion of the transformation of customary institutions during and after the colonial period,
see Isaacman and Isaacman (1983); Geffray (1990); Hanlon (1990); Sidaway (1992); Coehlo (1993).
92. The Minister of Agriculture recently defended the creation of these villages and their continuation based
upon FRELIMO's misunderstanding of customary social institutions, stating that they were an extension of the
traditional African way of life. See Domingo, 17 October 1993.