The eyes and hands of Yemanjá narrate the city of Paraíba

Abstract

In this article, I present some results of the postdoctoral research conducted from September 2021 to August 2023 at the Centro de Estudos Sociais of the Universidade de Coimbra, under the supervision of Professor Marta Araújo. I discuss trauma memory/resistance memories (Vecchi, 2020), territory, decolonial museum (Vergès, 2017), and oralituras (Leda Maria Martins, 2003), concepts/approaches that help us think about the patrimonialization of culture, anti-racist education, and narratives of terreiro peoples about and from cities. I traverse the narrative of violence against terreiro peoples in the city of João Pessoa, Paraíba, taking as examples the acts of vandalism against the statue of Iemanjá, the Santinha, erected on Cabo Branco beach, the easternmost point of the Americas. Along this path, I present questions and some proposals to think about cities as theaters of memory or as forums (Rahul Rao, 2016), and narratives of women, primarily, as guides for the journey.