Peace Corps sends volunteers to work in the education system and local government. Portuguese aid groups are also present in Cape Verde. Division of Labor by Gender. Women take care of all domestic tasks including cooking, cleaning, and child rearing. At the same time, they also make substantial contributions in other sectors of the work force, including farming, construction, and commerce. Women are often the sole economic supporters of their families.
However, they are proportionally under-represented in the white-collar professions and in the political system. People, dressed in Western clothing, stand in front of a mural depicting the importance of safe sex, another Western import. The Relative Status of Women and Men. While the genders are legally recognized as equal, there are broad de facto disparities in rights and power. Women mothers in particular are respected for the immense workload they shoulder, yet they often are expected to defer to men.
Legal and church weddings are uncommon in Cape Verde. More often than not, a woman will simply sai di casa leave her family's house to move in with her boyfriend.
This is often occasioned by the woman becoming pregnant. After four years of cohabitation, a relationship acquires the status of common-law marriage. While polygamy is not legal, it is customary for men married or not to be sleeping with several women at once.
Domestic Unit. Traditionally, several generations of a family live together in the same house. Childrearing is communal, and living situations are fluid; children often stay with aunts, uncles, or other relatives, especially during the school year. Due to emigration and de facto polygamy, there are a great many households headed by single mothers. Infant Care. Seven days after a baby is born, the parents throw a big party called a sete. Like any other party, it is an occasion for dancing and drinking.
At midnight the guests file in to the baby's room and sing to it as a protection against evil spirits. Infants are coddled and held. Mothers often tie small babies to their backs and carry them along to work. Child Rearing and Education. Children are treated with affection, but are reprimanded strictly for misbehavior. Corporal punishment is not uncommon. Children are expected to work at the family's trade, and even if the parents are professionals, children do a good deal of housework.
Obedience and deference to elders is inculcated early. It is not uncommon for an adult to grab any child on the street and ask him or her to run an errand. Education is mandatory and free between the ages of seven and fourteen. About 90 percent of children attend school. Each island has a high school that goes through at least eleventh grade. High school students pay an education tax on a sliding scale based on their parents' income.
Higher Education. Cape Verde is still in the process of establishing an institution of higher learning. Old colonial style architecture is reminiscent of the past European influence in Cape Verde.
There are teacher certification schools in Praia and one in Mindelo. To obtain any other degree past high school, it is necessary to go abroad. A higher degree is of little use in the Cape Verdean job market, and the vast majority of those who leave to study do not return.
Cape Verdeans are an extremely generous and hospitable people. Even the poorest take pride in presenting guests with a meal. It is considered rude to eat in front of others without sharing, and for this reason one does not eat in a public setting such as on the street or on a bus. Cape Verdeans stand close together when talking and are physically demonstrative, often touching and holding hands men as well as women.
Greetings are somewhat lengthy, and include shaking hands or kissing for women , and inquiring about each other's health and family. This is usually done each time two people meet, even if it is more than once in the same day. Religious Beliefs. Ninety-eight percent of Cape Verdeans are Roman Catholic. There is a history of several Jewish settlements that dates back to the inquisition, but they are now extinct.
Rituals and Holy Places. Each town has a church, but most Cape Verdeans are non-practicing Catholics. However, saints' days are often the basis of community-wide parties involving dancing, drinking, and food. One family, neighborhood, or town usually takes charge of the celebration for a given saint.
Death and the Afterlife. Despite its relatively secular atmosphere, rituals surrounding death are strictly observed. Funerals are large events attended by much of the community. The procession is accompanied by mourners who perform a highly stylized, musical wailing.
Family members of the deceased dress in black for a full year after the death and are forbidden to dance or play music. Cape Verde provides its citizens with free health care through small hospitals on each island.
Facilities and resources are poor but are more advanced than many in West Africa. The best hospitals are in Praia and Mindelo, and people are often sent there for Fogo Islanders in a truck loaded with firewood.
The main health concerns are infectious and parasitic diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, bronchitis, and gastrointestinal ailments. These are caused mainly by malnutrition and poor sanitation. The average life expectancy is 62 years, and the infant mortality rate is the lowest in West Africa.
New Year's Day is celebrated on 1 January. Amilcar Cabral Day 24 January , recognizes the birthday of the liberator of Cape Verde, one of the leaders in the war of independence. Independence Day is celebrated on 5 July. Support for the Arts. There is a Cape Verdean Cultural Center in Praia, which stages performances and exhibitions and sells books, music, and artifacts.
There is a small but growing body of Cape Verdean literature. Most of it is written in Portuguese, but a movement to develop a standardized written form of Creole has caused several books to be published in this language as well. Written literature is strongly influenced by the tradition of oral story telling which finds its roots in both Africa and Europe.
A predominant theme in both literature and music is saudade , a sense of longing or homesickness, usually the result of emigration and the ensuing separation of families. Graphic Arts. Graphic art production is limited. Crocheting is popular among women. Textiles were traditionally produced on large looms in a time-consuming process but this is rare today. The island of Boavista is known for its clay pottery; Fogo is known for small carvings made from hardened lava. There is also some basket weaving, embroidery, woodworking, and other craft production, but the preponderance of artifacts sold at the markets is imported from Africa.
Performance Arts. Music and dance are a focal point of Cape Verdean culture. Traditional forms of music include funana, which is played on an accordion and an iron bar that serves as a rhythm instrument. Batuque is performed by a circle of women who beat out rhythms on plastic sacks held between their legs. Both types of music are very African-influenced and are particular to the island of Santiago.
Another traditional form of music is the morna which is a slower, more Portuguese-influenced ballad. Each type of music has a specific dance that goes with it. Popular music has a largely synthesized feel. There are no research facilities or laboratories for physical sciences in Cape Verde.
Bratton, Michael. Carreira, Antonio. Davidson, Basil. Hills, C. Irwin, Aisling and Colum Wilson. Khouri-Dagher, Nadia. Lobban, Richard A. Meintel, Deirdre. Mozer, Gerald M. Teixeira, Erin. Cape Verde Reference Page.
Toggle navigation. Culture Name Cape Verdean. Orientation Identification. History and Ethnic Relations Emergence of the Nation. The northern, or barlavento islands, tend to identify more with the Portuguese colonizers, whereas the Cape Verde. Food and Economy Food in Daily Life. Social Stratification Classes and Castes. Political Life Government. Social Welfare and Change Programs Social security programs have been introduced, but are limited in scope. Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations Several foreign nongovernmental organizations NGOs are a presence; among these, the German organization Dywidag has helped develop the ports.
Marriage, Family, and Kinship Marriage. Socialization Infant Care. Etiquette Cape Verdeans are an extremely generous and hospitable people. Religion Religious Beliefs. Medicine and Health Care Cape Verde provides its citizens with free health care through small hospitals on each island.
The Arts and Humanities Support for the Arts. Until , Cape Verde was part of the Portuguese Guinea now Guinea-Bissau and in the status of the Islands changed from colony to overseas province. The s was by and large viewed as a period of steady development under the PAICV government who increased incoming aid and foreign investment. Whilst the country had only one political party. The government of Cape Verde is regarded as free of corruption and enjoys and excellent record on human rights.
This nation has been plagued by drought causing widespread economical problems, emigration and the need to import a large percentage of their food. Despite this,Cape Verde now enjoys peace and stability and is free of conflict. With the rise of tourism there is hope once again for the Islands.
To find out more about Cape Verde as a holiday destination, visit our blog. The official language of the islands is Portuguese, which is used in most written communication, including newspapers; however Creole tends to be used in conversation and it's this you'll hear being used on a day to day basis. Creole is based on African languages but with additions from several European languages.
And then we go through a map policy committee" at National Geographic that examines the area in question and determines whether and if so, how a change should be made. What about different versions, when one group might find one preferential but another might find it insulting? In the case of Mumbai , which is the regional name for the city that was called Bombay as a vestige of British colonialism, National Geographic style is to use both: Mumbai Bombay.
Consider also the case of places that are recognized by some governments and not recognized by others. The classic example is the Palestinian territories: Placing the Palestinian territories on a map angers some groups; not identifying the Palestinian territories as a state angers others.
You might think the chief geographer at National Geographic stares at maps all day, but much of his job involves tracking the news. All rights reserved. Centuries ago, the country anglicized its name to Cape Verde. Who's in charge of maps, anyway? There isn't really an international agency of mapmaking. Which leads us to our next fact: 2. Cartographers map reality. We make changes as they happen. The world is constantly changing.
Map changes aren't as simple as deleting old borders and names. Languages Portuguese, Crioulo a mixture of archaic Portuguese and African words. President: Jose Maria Neves. Centre-left opposition candidate Jose Maria Neves won the October election, ending a ten-year hold on the presidency by the centre-right MPD party. President Neves served as prime minister from , and faces the task of restoring stability to the tourism-driven economy after the recession caused by the Covid pandemic.
His PAICV and the MPD have dominated politics since independence from Portugal in , and have alternated in power since multi-party democracy was introduced in Cape Verde was ranked second highest among African countries listed in the Reporters Without Borders world press freedom index in
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