Page 39 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 33

Community
then that the country is African. Poor me! I
could not recollect that conversation.

Anyway, Cabo Verde stood out among the
list of countries we have not featured, so

I decided the January 2025 issue would
be about this mighty nation of Africa.
Especially, since the nation captures the
thought in my heart about how we as
a people must use 2025 as the year to
Cabo Verdean cousine. Image: https://www.visit-caboverde.com/
consolidate the various small aspects of our
lives as Africans and begin to operate from demographic statistics: approximately 70%
the centralized and united fronts. Simply of the population is of mixed race, over 25%

put, we need to quickly empower the various are Black, and about 1% are Caucasian.
small and diverse aspects of our lives, and
bring them together to form a mighty and Languages of Cabo Verde
formidable system that can withstand the
changing nature of our world.
Portuguese serves as the official language,
used in education, government, and the
In this light, the picture of a ten-island nation media. However, Cabo Verdean Creole, a
just gives a beautiful perspective of unity and language with a Portuguese lexical base, is

a central force. Makes a lot of sense.
the everyday spoken language. This Creole
emerged in the early days of settlement in
I do not know much about Cabo Verde, so I the sanzalas (slave quarters) as a tool for
borrowed some insights from https://www. communication among enslaved people of
visit-caboverde.com/en/about-cabo-verde diverse linguistic backgrounds.

a website that tells the story of the Cabo
Verdean people and nation.
Creole remains central to Cabo Verdean
identity, even among descendants in the
The Mixed Heritage of Cabo Verdeans global diaspora. This linguistic heritage
Cabo Verdeans are a diverse people with rich reflects the resilience of the culture, with
and mixed ancestry. Their roots trace back to Cabo Verdean Creole serving as a second
African groups such as the Fulani, Balanta, language for many in the diaspora.
and Mandinka, alongside Portuguese,

Italian, French, and Spanish influences. The The Cabo Verdean Diaspora
population also includes descendants of Cabo Verde’s global diaspora is often
Sephardic Jews expelled from the Iberian referred to as the “11th island,” with more

Peninsula during the Inquisition, who were Cabo Verdeans living abroad than on the
among the first settlers of the islands. archipelago. Emigration has long been
This blending of heritages is reflected in

ISSUE 33 | JAUNUARY 2025 39