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Mummy wtih dreadlocks in Paracas, Peru |
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Brasil
....From
Santa Cruz in Bolivia I got on the "train of death"
for the twenty four hour train ride to the Brasilian frontier.
It had earned its nickname because of the train's propensity to
plunge off its tracks. As well, it was a favorite target for thieves
who would rob passengers, strip them of all their clothes and
throw them off the train into the jungle. I was on this train
since there was flooding at this time of year there were no options
in terms of buses and other vehicles and the cost of flights were
too prohibitive. It was easy to see why the train was a favorite
among thieves. As soon as darkness fell it was pitch black in
the over crowded train which was constantly making stops in the
jungle at small communities. I had to make sure that I stayed
awake and alert for the duration of the trip. During the train
ride, I had plenty of opportunity to think about the history of
Brasil and some of the potential Blakk Indian links. I was intrigued
by Jack Forbes research indicating that many of the slaves that
the Dutch had sold in the French Caribbean Islands were aboriginal
people from Brasil. In 1656, some twenty Brasilian slaves were
used to suppress an Angolan rebellion in Guadeloupe.
....Forbes
notes that many aboriginal people from Brasil were shipped to
Ghana and that there are still people in Ghana who can trace their
roots back to Brasil. The long train trip through the jungle took
me to Corumba, Brasil. I immediately noticed the incredible variety
of racial mixtures that were present in the population. I was
told that most people in Brasil are a mix of African, Aboriginal
and Portuguese.
....
Later
when I arrived in Pernambuco it was explained to me by my host
Dr. Carricone that in Brasil a term for Blakk Indians was Cafuso.
Anthropologist Richard Price Maroon Societies speaks of another
set of Blakk Indians in Brasil who were called Cabores. |
| ....Among
the finds was a set of clay pipes that were typical of those used
by aboriginal people in Brasil. While visiting the Centro Nordesta
Popular Medicino, a center specializing in herbal medicine in
Recife, I met Mrs Santanta. At first I assumed that she was a
Black woman, her features were those I had seen in numerous
Brasilians. She
corrected me by saying "I am Cafuso". It was a telling
moment for me as I realised that assessing people's ancestry in
Brasil wouldn't be the easiest task. After that I got into the
habit of specifically asking Brasilians their ancestry when I
met them. As I travelled further north in the state of Maranho
where there was a greater proximity to aboriginal populations,
I could clearly see the mix between black and aboriginal. This
was also true in parts of the state of Bahia, the entry point
of African slaves into Brasil. Especially around the villages
of Arrail dajuda and Caravia which also happened to be located
near small aboriginal reserves.
....The
dancing that accompanies maracatu provides clear indicators of
the influence of both African and aboriginal people. Dancers alternate
between doing aboriginal dance steps (specific to the Amazon regions
of Brasil) which resemble synchronized swaying movements and jig
like movements which are obviously of African origin.
Dancers are often dressed to represent African royalty and at
the same time the aboriginal influence
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This
statue of the aboriginal man wearing a headdress signifie the
aboriginal spirits of Brasil.
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is clear with many dancers carrying spears and wearing headdresses
made out of coconut boughs. In a similar manner the Blakk Indian
cultural mix can also be heard in bumbu boi a traditional music
found in the state of Maranhão.
....Some
time later in the city of Sao Paulo I was attending a performance
by an Afro Brasilian dance company. Unlike, similar companies,
they included an interpretation of umbanda As part of the theatrical
presentation they had an authority on umbanda planted in the audience
who answered questions posed by the cast members about the religion.
After the performance, I asked him some questions about the significance
of aboriginal spirits in umbanda. He introduced himself as Pai
Sydney de Xango, a high priest of umbanda. We had a great conversation
and he was very interested in some of the links I was able to
point out to him between aboriginal people and voodoo in Haiti.
As a result of our conversation he invited me to an umbanda ceremony
that would be held at his family's house.
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Please note the feathers handing from the ceiling
and from
the wall, these signify a connection to the aboriginal spirits.
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....The
next week I arrived at his house at midnight. From outside the
house I could hear the sound of African drumming and singing.
I was ushered into a large room where the umbanda ceremony was
occurring. I was greeted by Pai Sydney de Xango who was directing
a group of white clad participants as they danced and chanted
around large ceremonial objects in the room to the sound of African
rhythms provided by a group of percussionists.
....The history of Black people much
less Blakk Indian people in South America is a subject that has
been severely neglected. The majority of the information that
you will be reading here has come |
The participants are at times dressed in outfits and masks
to represent various Orixas. |
from
years of arduous and at times extremely dangerous travel through
the continent. Often it involved following through on numerous
pieces of oral information.
....Many led to absolutely nowhere
while on other instances it led us to places and people which
enabled us to understand the rich Blakk Indian history that exists.
Most of this information hasn't been previously available in print
form.
....We hope that it makes a contribution
to a clearer and more accurate understanding of history.
....This union had occurred when
escaped African slaves had come together with aboriginal people.
In Brasil escaped slaves often established self - |
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sufficient
resistance communities called Quilombos. They obtained their food
by fishing and hunting and cultivating various types of beans,
manioc and sweet potatoes. Portuguese colonial records describe
a quilumbo at Sao Vincent that was captured as containing "six
negroes, eight Indian men, nineteen Indian women, ten male Cabores
and eleven female Cabores". The largest and longest-surviving
quilumbo was located in the province of Pernambuco at a site called
Palmares. The Portuguese made numerous efforts to destroy this
famous resistance settlement. A report from an expeditions led
by Rilexo Barro provides some interesting indicators of the Blakk
Indian presence in this settlement. His report states "one-hundred
negroes of Palmares were killed and one force captured thirty-one
defenders including seven Indians and some mulatto children".
It is important to note that the term Mulatto was originally used
in the Americas to refer to the offspring of aboriginal and African
parents. Only later was it used to refer to the children of African
and European parents. |
....Speaking
with Veronica Gomes, the co-ordinator of the Ojumbay center, an
Afro-Brasilian non-governmental organization in Olinda, I was
provided with further insights into the history of quilumbos in
Brasil. While previously there had been no recognition for the
resistance fighters of the quilumbos like Zumbi who fought against
the Portuguese, Ms Gomes was highly critical of the current representations
of the quilumbos. She told me that both a 1964 film and a 1996
television miniseries were full of inaccuracies and that they
neglected to mention the involvement of aboriginal communities.
Despite this, some interesting information was uncovered during
the production of the miniseries. A linguist was hired to reconstruct
the language spoken in the quilumbos.It became apparent that the
reconstructed language was a mixture of African, aboriginal and
Portuguese. Like the language of modern day Brasil, Ms Gomes felt
the union of African and aboriginal people was very much reflected
in the Brasilian language. As well, she indicated that a professor
from São Paulo had recently done an archeological survey
of the quilumbos at Palmares. |
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....The
Blakk Indian cultural link can also be found in Brasilian music.
My first experience of this was when I witnessed a performance
of maracatu music in the city of Olinda in Pernambuco state. It
was in the weeks just preceding carnival and various bands were having
practice sessions in the streets. One day I just happened to be
walking and suddenly in front of me was a procession of musicians
and dancers closely followed by a jubilant dancing crowd. The
musicians used trumpets and other brass instruments accompanied
by a variety of drums. Tanan Cariconde, musician from Olinda,
explained to me that Maracatu music utilized a lot of African
rhythms. This was apparent from the musical patterns being played
on the bass drums. There was also a heavy aboriginal influence
to maracatu and this was reflected particularly in the cadence
of the music. A type of maracatu music which was called Maracutu
del Baque Solto had in fact been born out of an interpretation
of actual historical events: a war between two sets of aboriginal
peoples.
....One
day while walking the streets of Salvador, I saw a black woman
who was selling a variety of religious objects. I immediately
noticed that one of the objects for sale was a statue of an aboriginal
man wearing a headdress. The vendor explained that the statues
were used for purposes of protection by followers of the Afro
Brasilian religion Umbanda. Having seen similar statues in the
households of Santeria in Santiago, Cuba I knew right away that
this pointed to a Blakk Indian spiritual link.
As I looked around I noticed that in one corner of the room was
a statue of a black woman wearing the traditional white umbanda
clothing. In the other corner was a statue of an aboriginal man
wearing a headdress. Hanging from the ceiling was a pot filled
with feathers and feathers were also attached to an object hanging
from one of the walls. I knew enough about the religious symbolism
to understand that these feathers were representing a spiritual
connection with the spirits of the aboriginal ancestors of Brasil.
Pai Sydney conducted the ceremony in the West African langauge
of Yoruba. At various points in the ceremony the participants
were possessed by various spirits. |
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....Their
entire demeanor was transformed as they danced possessed under
the careful guidance of Pai Sydney and his assistants who took
them through various rituals. Homage was paid to various African
gods (orixas) and participants would come out dressed in various
incredible costumes and masks to represent specific orixas. Throughout
the ceremony the energy in the room was electric. The non-stop
drumming and chanting and the graceful movements of Pai Sydney
as he danced while chanting prayers and incantations in Yoruba.
....At one point in the ceremony
a young boy who was about nine years old, wearing only white pants
and with the rest of his body painted with white dots was given
the spotlight of the ceremony as only he and Pai Sydney danced
around the room. The young boy danced using traditional Yoruba
moves singing incantations until he became possessed. This was
a major step for the young boy and all who were present gave him
applause for his efforts. When the ceremony finished at four that
morning, pots of traditional Bahian and Nigerian cooking were
brought out and |
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all
the participants and their guests and relatives were served by
Pai Sydney and his assistants. Afterwards people hung out and socialized. While waiting to speak with Pai Sydney I spoke with
one of the participants who turned out to be the aunt of the young
boy who had been dancing in the ceremony. She informed me that
this night marked the eighteenth anniversary of her coming to
umbanda. She also revealed to me that her father was aboriginal
and her mother was African. After the food was consumed, I had
a chance to speak with Pai Sydney. He told me that in the late
nineteenth-century, Allan Cardec brought European spiritualism
to Brasil. At some point in the 1870s followers of Cardenismo
were having a séance when an aboriginal spirit tried to come into
the session but the white practitioners wouldn't let it enter.
....The
aboriginal spirit said that a new religion should be formed that
would respect and incorporate the spirits of Black and aboriginal
ancestors. The first umbanda house was established in Recife during
the 1870s and was called "tenda de umbanda do caboclo das
sete enctuzilhados". One of the tenets which distinguishes
umbanda other Afro Brasilian religions such as candomble is the
space and respect that it gives to the aboriginal spirits known
as cabocle. (I should point our that I was told that possibly
a very early form of candomble' called candomble d' Angola might
have had aboriginal spiritual links but this is a very difficult
area to research).There are various aboriginal spirits in umbanda
such as Iron Chest, White Feathers, and Seven Arrows. As Pai Sydney
told me, often on the altars at umbanda temples you will see aboriginal
statues and feathers that signify those spirits. I didn't witness
this at this particular ceremony. I have been informed that there
are umbanda ceremonies that invoke the aboriginal spirits who
speak through the devotees and suggest potions and incantations
for those with medical problems. He also explained to me that
umbanda wanted to respect and honor the spirits of the ancestors
of the aboriginal people of Brasil on whose land they were on.
This was the reason that there was a statue of the aboriginal
man in the corner of the room as one enters. While it was clear
to me that the focus of umbanda was on its traditional African
roots, its practitioners went out of their way to honor the aboriginal
presence and spirits in their ceremonies.
....One aboriginal observer who was
present at the ceremony commented to me that if Europeans had
shown this type of respect for aboriginal culture when they arrived
in Brasil, perhaps the devastation of aboriginal people in Brasil
wouldn't have occurred. |
