Healers, idolaters, and good Christians: a case study of creolization and popular religion in mid-eighteenth century Angola
2010; Boston University; Volume: 43; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2326-3016
Autores Tópico(s)Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies
ResumoOn November 14, 1750, the prison of the Inquisition in Lisbon opened its gates to a curious entourage. Joao Pereira da Cunha, a former capitao-mor or captain-major of Ambaca, located in the Portuguese colony of Angola, had been imprisoned on the orders of the King after charges against him had been presented to the Inquisition.1 He was accused of witchcraft and idolatry, a heavy charge for a man who was an esteemed military commander in Angola and a member of the Order of Christ. Catarina Juliana, an African woman from Angola and Cunha's concubine, was also captured on the same charges. In their company ten Central African slaves of various origins, owned by Cunha, were put in prison. The processus or trials that followed the arrival of this group in Lisbon took a decade and a half to complete as the Inquisitors pressed for more information from witnesses in Angola and interrogated the accused who were held in prison.2 These processes offer a wealth of information on mid-eighteenth century Angola and especially on religious life both in the interior as well as in Luanda, although great care must be taken when reassessing the veracity of the accusations that were expressed against Joao Pereira da Cunha and Catarina Juliana.3 The processes also reveal a great deal about the extent of creolization in eighteenth-century Angola. Linda Heywood and John Thornton have recently, in various publications, argued that social life in Central Africa during the era of the slave trade was characterized by intimate contacts between African and Portuguese individuals that affected not only religious life but also cultural practices such as naming patterns, musical traditions, foodways, clothing styles, and housing.4 The evidence presented in this article confirms some of the arguments made by Heywood and Thornton, and also sheds new light on the cultural interaction between Central Africans and the Portuguese. Creolization was evident from the first time accusations against Cunha and his concubine were voiced. Two differing cultures were constantly in contact and in communication in the family life of Joao Pereira da Cunha and Catarina Juliana. Both sides of this cultural exchange were equally affected. According to Linda Heywood, a Creole culture had emerged by the beginning of the eighteenth century in Portuguese Angola. Creolization was a process that affected not only African culture and peoples. The phenomenon also resulted in the Africanization of Portuguese settlers and their culture. As Heywood has argued, the Portuguese encountered no difficulties in adapting to a dominant African cultural environment, and Central Africans were adept at selectively integrating elements of European culture into their own cultural fabric. Biological and cultural intermixture was significant in the cities of Luanda and Benguela and the areas around the military forts in the interior. Heywood has shown that the Portuguese and Brazilian-born residents in Angola and their white and LusoAfrican offspring were linked to the larger African population through a series of complex economic, military, political, cultural, and familial ties. All these people participated in the Creole culture.5 The religious identity of Central Africans comes under close scrutiny in this article. James Sweet has questioned the depth of Catholic identity among Central Africans, or more specifically, among Christians in the Kingdom of Kongo. Sweet presumes that the broad Central African cosmology remained the dominant religious paradigm for most Kongolese even when they were baptized Catholics.6 This case, however, suggests that there is little reason to see either Christianity or indigenous African religious beliefs as a dominant aspect of an individual's religious identity. Both were equally viable and led to syncretic religious practices among Central Africans. The inquisitors examined these practices in depth. Although they found that Joao Pereira da Cunha and Catarina Juliana had relied on African healers, they also found ample evidence of their Catholic devotion. …
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