Quilombos Research Paper

A very evident example of a mixed culture in Brazil that have resulted from slavery in the colony is that of the quilombolas. Quilombolas are descendants of escaped slaves over the last few centuries in northern Brazil who founded their own settlements and began a separate, secluded life of their own in villages in the Amazon River basin, called quilombos. Secluding themselves from the rest of northern Brazil over multiple centuries allowed these people to produce a very interesting outcome in terms of culture, such as the formation of a religion like Terecô. National Geographic states, “Terecô is one of the quilombos’ many hybrid religions, interweaving African and Christian beliefs with native practices.” Looking at this example and thinking back to the early history of northern Brazil,

Slaves were first imported to Brazil from Portuguese Africa, where the captured slaves had their beliefs, here referred to as African beliefs. This is quite general and could refer to many different realms of beliefs within the continent, but it can be assumed that they differ from those of European Christianity and of the indigenous peoples’ of South America. Meanwhile, the Portuguese people that captured these slaves were almost exclusively Catholics, which had a direct effect on both the slaves and the indigenous people in Brazil. An example of this is shown in the film Desmundo, where an indigenous child is seen entering a room where a few Portuguese people are sharing a meal, and he is immediately called out and told he can sit on the floor (check for accuracy, I don’t remember this for sure). However, one man tells the others that the child has converted to Christianity, and that he is therefore allowed to join them at the table. This child would not necessarily have had reason to convert to Christianity, besides the facts that the Europeans lived a better lifestyle than he and that he would be allowed to join them in their activities if he considered himself a