“No género de construções cafreais”: o hospital-palhota como projecto colonial

Abstract

This article addresses colonial hospitals in Angola and Mozambique in the context of the contemporary discussions on colonial mimesis. Starting with a low-resolution image of a 3D model for a “hut-hospital”, in which the colonial infirmaries mimic indigenous shelters, the author analyzes the model as an object and as an outcome of political and cultural circumstances in which the model was produced and showcased in the 1950s, the political background in which it developed and the rationale for adopting elements of African cultures in colonial medicine as formulated in the 1920s.