The Craft Market is the largest square in Angola where pieces that represent the national culture and a little of the history of Africa are sold, it is located in the south of Luanda, the square has been operational for over 30 years, its former location was in the Benfica district, currently the market is located in Morro da Cruz, near the National Museum of Slavery.

the people and their ethnicity

In the Artesanato Market you will find the history of the Angolan people who are divided by tribes, in Angola you will find 3 ethnic groups, first we have the sheep, most of the population belongs to this ethnic group, secondly we have the kicongos, in third we have the bacon which is represented by the smallest number of the population.

what to find on the market

In the Craft Market you can find the following:

• Musical instruments: reco-reco, the batoque, the marimba and the quissanje;
• Baskets made of straw;
• Clothing and jewelry;
• Masks, Maps and other Statues made from tree trunks;
• Hand-painted pictures, there are also pictures on the market that are made only with sand, that is, made with sand instead of a brush and paint.

Reasons to visit the Craft Market

One cannot visit Angola without knowing its true history, one cannot visit Angola without taking a souvenir that symbolizes this warm people.

The statues that are handmade with the national woods are used for decorations like; housing rooms, restaurants, hotels, bars and others. If you don't want to carry weight the alternatives can be; bead bracelet, African costume, key holder and others.

The move from Benfica's Handicraft Market to Morro da Cruz

As a way to attract more tourists to the National Slavery Museum, there was a need for the government to relocate the Benfica Handicraft Market to Morro da Cruz, near the National Slavery Museum, it is also a strategy for museum visitors to purchase duplicated pieces from the Museum and beyond, as a souvenir of Angola.

Artist makers of this market

The great artists and heads of families, in addition to sculpting great works of art, with a commitment of body and soul, are also the same ones who sell their products.

Discover the Angolan rarities in the Craft Market

Discover some of the Angolan rarities at Mercado do Artesanato, when visiting the Market, the art makers make a point of explaining the meaning of each piece of a work of art and what this work represents in the life of the Angolan people. the following rarities:

Giant Black Sable Statue: It is an animal of a rare species existing only in Angola, in the province of Malanje, it is the representative symbol of the Angolan football team.

Mwana Powder Mask: It is a Statue of the Tsokwe culture, which represents the beautiful woman

Picture with a painting of a baobab tree: The baobab is a plant from Africa that has existed for over 100 years, and in the early times the sobas gathered the population to solve problems related to the village.

Black Carapinha Dura Frame: This painting represents the life of an Angolan struggling woman abandoned by her husband, who struggles to provide for her children.

Meet the black trunk used to make a statue

The statues in the Craft Market are made of brown, white and black wood trunks. The trunk of black wood is a rare wood that only exists in Angola and is used to carve the works, this black wood is born in the middle of a trunk of brown wood.

With this tour guide you can enjoy a great visit to the Craft Market. Please let us know if this article was helpful to you in the comments below.

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