Práticas de resistências no território do quilombo Passo dos Brum, em São Sepé - RS

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the remaining quilombola territory of Passo dos Brum, belonging to the third district called Jazidas, located in the municipality of São Sepé, in the Central Region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, 50 km from Santa Maria and 265 km from Porto Alegre. This particular quilombola community descended from the ancestral founder, ex-slave Athanásio Miguel dos Santos. Valuing ancestral knowledge is fundamental in this research, as it establishes an intrinsic and lasting link with the construction and acquisition of land in the space inhabited by the subjects. From the perspective of cultural geography, in this study, we analyzed the demands made by Passo dos Brum quilombolas in their confrontations and resistance movements to protect their heritage. Since the quilombola community in Passo dos Brum is a product of various projects and territorialization strategies that were based on the acquisition and donation of small lots and reception by settlers, these strategies will be understood based on the constitution of kinship types , the exchange relationships, and sharing of symbolic-affective content. The role of the researcher aroused interest in the issue of access to land, especially when listening to the testimonies of elderly people from the quilombo.The reports obtained from the initial narratives helped us construct the research problem: How do the descendants of this territory continue resistance in the face of local contradictions? Therefore, the question of this thesis is formed on the principle of how the relations of territory and territorialities are produced in the re-signification of what it is to be a quilombola for the subjects in Passo dos Brum. Thus, the main objective of this study is to understand the contradictory constitution of the culture, identity, and quilombola territory of Passo dos Brum from the perspective of the subjects and the resistances and struggles protected in power relations. The specific objectives of this study are to understand the circumstances and contexts of resistance of the quilombola subjects of Passo dos Brum; to understand symbolic aspects that constitute the quilombola identity and culture of the people of Passo dos Brum; and to discuss the contradictions between institutional/public policies and the resignifications about being a quilombola for the subjects of Passo dos Brum. Through the ethnomethodological method, the paths and movements for the construction of questions and reflections in the study were outlined. This research method was chosen to establish affective bonds, as a way of getting closer to the key subjects, and later to hold meetings with the other members of the community. As a result, several themes and narratives are revealed, which were categorized into: racism, ancestry, quilombola identity, access to drinking water, health, celebrations and festivities, and the relationship with food. These categories were explored revealing the different practices found during the field. In the end, it was pointed out that in this context of community subjects, there is the maintenance and construction of shared elements in the quilombo, through articulation with other residents and the community in general, as well as, through their practices and exchanges of information from from the quilombo.