AN ATYPICAL SACRED PLACE: CAIS DO VALONGO (BRAZIL)

Bulla Maria Paola
PhD. Student (Università Della Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”), ITALY, mariapaola.bulla@unicampania.it

Abstract

The archaeological site called “Cais do Valongo” corresponds to a wharf where enslaved Africans disembarked, located at an area near Downtown Rio de Janeiro called “Valongo”. Five hundred thousand enslaved Africans passed through the Valongo Wharf on the way to being sold after crossing the Atlantic in a period of 40 years.

The Valongo Wharf was built in 1811 and was covered, in the early 20th century, for the construction of the new port of Rio de Janeiro. The site was re-discovered in 2011 during archaeological excavations, under the direction of the archaeologist Tania Andrade Lima, due to the urban project “Porto Maravilha”, the purpose was the revitalization of the city of Rio de Janeiro for the FIFA World cup, in 2014, and the Olympic Games in 2016. With the archaeological rediscovery of the slave wharf, the site has become one of the most important monuments of the African diaspora. The specific feature of this place is that after its rediscovery gained in symbolic significance for the population, especially afro descendants: it becomes a sacred ground. The place gained a spiritual importance, followers of traditional African religion believe that ancestors maintain a spiritual connection with their living relatives.

African-derived religions in Brazil, such as Candomblé, Umbanda, Batuque, Xango, and Tambor de Mina,  were originally brought by black slaves shipped from Africa and it is for this reason very strong the emotional connection of the Afro- descendants with this place which was the site of which was the scene of many sufferings of their ancestors.

Keywords: Archaeology, Anthropology, History.