Pé-de-manga mulher: narrativas dos encontros com as mulheres do Quilombo de Caluete (PE) e suas organizações políticas

Abstract

The political organizations of quilombola women in Brazil, from the colonial period to the present day, have been fundamental in the struggle of enslaved black people, and remain crucial in maintaining the life and memory of quilombola communities. This research was conducted in the municipality of Garanhuns, located in the countryside of Pernambuco, which bears the mark of the black people's struggle, who were enslaved but also resisted through various forms of political organization. This city is situated in a region with six quilombos, each with its own quilombola associations, essential spaces for securing their rights. The quilombola community of Caluete is notably led by a woman, distinguishing it as the only community where a woman holds such a leadership position. She presides over their association, with other women occupying the majority of leadership roles. However, within this context, there are strong expressions of coloniality of power and gender, leading to invisibility and challenges in organizing and mobilizing these women in their work. It is from this issue that this research emerged, aiming to understand the political organization of quilombola women in the community of Caluete within the framework of their association, employing insights from feminist and decolonial epistemologies. The main objective of the research is to understand the political participation of quilombola women within the context of the Quilombola Association of Caluete. The specific objectives are: a) to understand the resistance practices in the process of political participation of women within the association through their narratives; and b) to analyze how their political engagements intersect and mobilize within family, community, and institutional spaces. The participants were quilombola women who are members of or hold leadership positions in the Quilombola Association of Caluete. This qualitative research adopts a narrative research perspective, using storytelling as a participatory tool based on the participants' suggestions to construct understanding of their struggles as quilombola women within their political, traditional, and associative organizations. We draw inspiration from the methodological proposal "Fogueiras da memória" (Bonfires of Memory), developed by quilombola researcher Ana Mumbuca Silva with her community. Through narratives shared between researcher and participants, we affirm the history of the black population in the referenced territory, which is continuously denied and silenced through coloniality. In engaging with the women of Quilombo de Caluete, we gained insights into their unique, collective, and localized experiences, highlighting them as the mainstays of life in their community through their political organizations and ways of life. Through their narratives on maintaining collective memories, traditional caregiving practices, and celebrations with their people, we develop understandings that point towards counter-colonial perspectives of quilombamento and territorialization, which should inspire women's struggles, psychology, scientific endeavors, and life.