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Inhambane Heritage/Sacred Forests (Chitanga & Mafai)
Inhambane Province, southern Mozambique
Mozambique
Active (customary protection)
Regional cluster
- Location
- Inhambane Province, southern Mozambique
- Coordinates
- ~23.0°S 35.0°E
- Elevation
- Coastal lowland
- Size
- 52 heritage forests (of 88 cultural sites); incl. Chitanga & Mafai
- Age / Founded
- Historic (chiefs' burial grounds; documented by Junod >1 century ago)
- Status
- Active (customary protection)
- Deity & Religion
- Ancestral chief spirits; Tsonga/Chopi traditional religion
- Community & Guardians
- Local Inhambane (Tsonga/Chopi) communities & chiefs
- Vernacular name
- Mato sagrado (heritage forest)
- Record type
- Regional cluster
Cultural practices & uses
Burial of chiefs; ceremonies; ancestral worship
Plant species
Near-endemic & red-listed: Diospyros inhacaensis, Dolichandrone alba, Cissampelos hirta, Paropsia braunii, Synaptolepis oliveriana, Vepris myrei, Hyperacanthus microphyllus
Biome & fauna
Southern Mozambique coastal forest/woodland mosaic
Threats & protection
Customary law protection; threatened by illegal & licensed logging
Source
Locally protected forests: Inhambane Province, S. Mozambique, Biodiversity & Conservation 34(9), 2024 (s10531-024-02822-z)