Mandalla Project - Quilomboa Boa Vista - Community of Boa Vista, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

[Donald Reid]

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This week (Friday) we have an expo of the mandallas in Acari.at a settlement called Bico do Arara a few kilometers south of Acari. The settlement is located at the base of the famous mountain Bico do Arara ... (www.acari-rn.com.br/bico.htm)
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The government agency SEARA settled 14 families in the valley at the base and they are interested in our ONG doing a mandalla project for them.
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Today we are completing a presentation for the project for 6 mandallas in the Quilombo Boa Vista ....
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Information concerning the quilombos:
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A quilombo (from the Kimbundu word kilombo) is a Brazilian rural settlement founded by people of African origin, Quilombolas, or Maroons. Most of the inhabitants of quilombos were escaped former slaves and, in some cases, a minority of marginalised Portuguese, Brazilian aboriginals, Jews and Arabs, and/or other non-black, non-slave Brazilians that faced oppression during colonization.
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History
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Some quilombos were near Portuguese settlements and active both in defending against "capitães do mato" commissioned to recapture slaves and in facilitating the escape of even more slaves. For this reason, they were targets of the Dutch, then Portuguese colonial authorities and, later, of the Brazilian state and slaveowners. Some quilombos that were farther from Portuguese settlements and the later Brazilian cities were tolerated and still exist as towns today, with inhabitants speaking distinctly African-Portuguese Creole languages. In the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, such a settlement is called a palenque and its inhabitants are palenqueros who speak various Spanish-African-based creole languages.
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Quilombo do Campinho.It is widely believed that the term quilombo establishes a link between Palmares and the culture of central Angola where the majority of slaves were forcibly brought to Brazil, because, during the time of the slave trafficking, natives in central Angola, called Imbangala, had created an institution called a kilombo that united various tribes of diverse lineage into a community designed for military resistance during that time of upheaval. However, the documentation on Palmares typically uses the term mocambo to describe the settlements, and quilombo was not used until the 1670s and then primarily in more southerly parts of Brazil.
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The most famous quilombo was Palmares, an independent, self-sustaining republic near Recife, established in about 1600. Part of the reason for the massive size of the quilombo at Palmares was because of its location in Brazil, which was at the median point between the Atlantic Ocean and Guinea, an important area of the African slave trade. At its height, Palmares was massive and consisted of several settlements with a combined population of over 30,000 renegades, mostly blacks. Ganga Zumba and Zumbi are the two most well known warrior-leaders of Palmares which, after a history of conflict with, first, Dutch and then Portuguese colonial authorities, finally fell to a Portuguese artillery assault in 1694.
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In Brazil, both men are honored as heroes and symbols of black pride, freedom and democracy to this day. Zumbi's execution date (as his birthday is unknown), November 20, is acknowledged as the National Day of the Black Conscience and he has appeared in postage stamps, banknotes and coins.
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The quilombos are protected by the Brazilian Constitution
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The 1988 Constitution of Brazil granted the remaining quilombos the collective ownership of the lands they have occupied since colonial times, thus recognizing their distinct identity at the same level of the Indians.
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Presently the quilombos are being helped by the Brazilian government, Federal Universities, and NGO/ONGs throughout the country. Our ONG in Rio Grande do Norte has been asked to prepare mandalla projects for several quilombos to help them be self-sufficient. This last week we visited the Quilombo at Boa Vista (28 km from Acari) and are preparing an initial project for 6 mandallas in the community. See the video .. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okE1ESZ6Ymc
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Donald
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Pictures from the Quilombo Boa Vista (I have many more)
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[Donald Reid]

quilombo.pdf

Document in Portuguese attached!