Sertão negro das gerais: existências e vozes-narrativas de mulheres quilombolas, Minas Gerais

Abstract

The thesis “The Black Sertão of the Gerais” was developed based on a synthesized idea that considers the quilombo and quilombola women as the research theme and focus, specifically within the Quilombola Bem Viver territory of Vila Nova dos Poções, located in the rural area of Janaúba, Minas Gerais. The confluence of academic disciplines, walking through the sertões, participation in LAGENTE, engagement with Black Feminist Thought, and encounters with quilombola people during field research culminated in the discursive structure of this thesis: i) quilombo, territory, geography; and ii) quilombola women and geography. From this perspective, I aimed to elaborate a geographical approach in dialogue with the quilombo, focusing on the narrative voices of quilombola women. To achieve this goal, the following specific objectives were established: i) to understand the formation and organization process of the Quilombo Bem Viver of Vila Nova dos Poções through dialogue with elders and community leaders; ii) to present the contributions of Master's and Doctoral research in Geography on the quilombo/quilombola theme, as well as research focusing on quilombola women; iii) to analyze the intersections between central themes in Black Feminist Thought and those highlighted by quilombola women. Methodologically, a theoretical and epistemological review regarding the research theme and focus was conducted. Dissertations and theses produced in Brazilian postgraduate programs were significant for understanding the geographical thought on quilombo studies and quilombola women. Based on this perspective, a literature review on central themes supported by Black Feminist Thought—produced by Black and quilombola women—was carried out, alongside thematic semi-structured interviews. The understanding of the formation and organization of the Quilombo Bem Viver of Vila Nova dos Poções is associated with the memory and orality of the quilombola people, particularly their self-recognition as the Gurutubano people, due to their way of life established along the banks of the Gorutuba River. In the present day, certification from the Palmares Cultural Foundation (FPC) reinforces the Gurutubano people's self-definition as quilombola. Throughout the research journey and established dialogues, understandings were constructed regarding the inseparability of religious rituals and cultural rites, with particular emphasis on religious celebrations and the Rodas de Batuque. The sense of belonging demonstrated profound ties to water, especially through ways of life related to the Gorutuba River and Lagoa Grande. In all the central themes presented in the thesis, the narrative voices and existences of quilombola women were evoked with the strength of their words and presence. In this context, I emphasize education as an ancestral movement within the quilombo. The women of the Quilombo Bem Viver of Vila Nova dos Poções have built an ancestral movement that now inspires the territory's struggles for the implementation of Quilombola School Education based on a sense of belonging.