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,

one can decipher how these beliefs and practices can all become intermixed to form a religion.

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

Christian. Nonetheless, he likely maintained many beliefs and practices of his indigenous culture, regardless of having accepted whichever beliefs of the Christian belief system that he did.
Now, these events can be linked to reach the conclusion of the formation of a religion like Terecô. Of the three groups that were living in close proximity at that time—that is, the Europeans, the Africans, and the indigenous people in the 300 years or so between 1500 and 1800—the natives and the Africans had the closest encounters, being the two lower class groups. Focusing on religion, the Africans maintained their beliefs from their culture but adopted many of the aspects of the native lifestyle due to the climate and their need to care for themselves; and, as a religious people, incorporated their everyday life, in this case a new everyday life, into their religion. Ultimately, many mixed religions such as Terecô were able to form in this manner.
Today, the quilombos in the Amazon River basin play an important part in maintaining Brazilian nature in the north. Leslye Ursini, an anthropologist at INCRA, a Brazilian land-management agency, has commented, “Pushing quilombo residents off their land would only worsen the plight of the forest… These people are the reason the forest still exists.” The culture and lifestyle that the quilombolas have maintained, although modern in the sense that it is a mixture of multiple cultures and lifestyles, is very supportive to the maintenance of nature, in contrast to the modern culture that sees many ways that a practice like deforestation can be useful. Deforestation is very minimal in quilombos, because of their tendency to remain small and only clear land that is necessary for small farms or pastures, or perhaps a soccer field for fun, as well. Quilombos are also spread far apart from each other, and many claim the lands in between, so that they may never grow too close to another village. Thus, mining companies and others in the north that find these areas desirable are unable to claim them.
As was just mentioned, many quilombos in northern Brazil today have a soccer field. The cultural importance of soccer is an essential discussion topic to understanding the progression of cultural practices in Brazil and the formation of culture in Brazil today.