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Marcelina da Silva: A Nineteenth-Century Candomblé Priestess in Bahia1

2010; Frank Cass & Co.; Volume: 31; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01440390903481639

1743-9523

Lisa Earl Castillo, Luís Nicolau Parés,

Migration, Ethnicity, and Economy

According to Afro-Brazilian oral tradition, the Casa Branca terreiro, one of the oldest in Bahia, was founded after a voyage to Africa undertaken by two early priestesses, African freedwomen Marcelina da Silva and Iyá Nassô. Until now, there has been very little historical evidence to clarify the lives of these two women or to support (or discredit) their legendary trip. The present paper presents newly uncovered data tracing Marcelina's life history, from her early experiences as a slave in Bahia in the 1820s to her 1837 return to Africa and subsequent rise to wealth and power during a second stay in Bahia that began a few years later. The paper also examines her participation in a transatlantic network of Yoruba freedmen, a group which also included other crucial figures in the history of Afro-Brazilian religion. In addition, the paper presents important new information about Iyá Nassô and her life in Bahia.