Jongo: Atlantic crossings and ritual return to Aruanda

The sea and the Atlantic crossing represent spaces for memory, resistance and construction of Afro-descendant identity in the Americas. Based on an ethnographic research on the Afro-Brazilian performance of jongo, the imaginary of the sea present in oral memory, in ritual gestures and in traditional...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Mattos, Ricardo Mendes
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:Brasil
Institución:Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS)
Repositorio:letrônica
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br:article/40930
Acceso en línea:https://revistaseletronicas.pucrs.br/letronica/article/view/40930
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sea/boat symbol
Jongo
Brazilian maroon communities
Black imaginary
Slavery
Símbolo mar/barco
Comunidades quilombolas
Imaginário negro
Escravidão
Descripción
Sumario:The sea and the Atlantic crossing represent spaces for memory, resistance and construction of Afro-descendant identity in the Americas. Based on an ethnographic research on the Afro-Brazilian performance of jongo, the imaginary of the sea present in oral memory, in ritual gestures and in traditional songs is presented. It is observed that the jongo circle itself symbolizes the sea and the traumatic crossing of the enslaved. This movement, associated with death, accompanies the construction of bonds of solidarity capable of forging a cultural identity of political resistance to slavery. Thus, the jongo celebrates the rebirth of the enslaved, after crossing the sea and death, and building the African legacy in traditional “quilombola” communities. Finally, the sea takes on utopian features in a ritual return to the mythical Aruanda, immersed in the prosperity of the Afro-descendant community and in the celebration of the journey of life.