Just in front of the Railyway Station there is the Praça dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Square) which has in its centre the unique colonial monument that remained in the City after the independence reminding us of the effort of the Portuguese and Mozambican soldiers during World War I.
The monument was conceived by the sculptor Ruy Gameiro and was inaugurated on the 11th of November 1935. On the upper side of the monument seats a statue of a lady holding a snake with her right hand.
According to popular myth the snake lived amongst the trees in the square and it used to bite those who wanted to rest below the shadow of the acacia trees. Attempting to kill the snake a lady prepared a pot of porridge and whilst hot carried it on her head.
The snake tried to bite the lady’s head and instead fell into the pot of hot porridge and died.
Therefore, it is believed that the statue standing in the centre of the square was built in honour of the lady, popularly known as Senhora da Cobra (meaning snake lady).
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