Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Afro-Brazilian Ancestralidade : critical perspectives on knowledge and development

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 31; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/01436591003701166

1360-2241

Alexandre Emboaba Da Costa,

Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development

Abstract This article 'thinks with' an Afro-Brazilian mobilisation of ancestralidade (ancestrality) as a means to explore, unmask and mark the centrality of 'race' in development. In contrast to thinking about race as cultural difference necessitating inclusion in development, thinking with Afro-Brazilian knowledge aims to rework the very category of development. 'Thinking with' engages critical knowledge emerging out of Afro-Brazilian struggles to forward a theory and practice of substantive political, institutional and social transformation. The article juxtaposes the culturalisms of national ideology and multicultural development policies with ancestralidade as a dynamic political practice that contests capitalism's racialised hierarchies while embodying another sociality of development. An analysis of one cultural centre's efforts to restructure the school curriculum demonstrates that the 'past' of racialised capitalism and ancestral memory are each contemporary projects which evince the relational formation and contested meaning of 'race' in development. Notes The author is grateful to Dia Da Costa and the three anonymous reviewers for helpful and detailed editorial comments. He is also grateful to members of Or[ugrave]nmilá for their contributions to and support of this research. Finally, he thanks Cornell University for funding from the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, the Graduate School, and the Latin American Studies Program/Tinker Foundation. 1 I use the terms Afro-Brazilian, black and Afro-descendant interchangeably in the text, conforming to usage by black activists and academic literature. The term negro or negra, which directly translates to 'black' or 'black man' and 'black woman', respectively, is often used by Afro-Brazilians to claim politicised identity through a term with historically negative connotations. The terms Afro-Brazilian and Afro-descendent are seen as more encompassing, as they include individuals who may not identify politically as negro, but are of visible African ancestry. 2 I employ the concept of 'thinking with' following Catherine Walsh's work with Afro-Ecuadorian and Indigenous movements and intellectuals, where thinking with subalternised knowledge reconstructs critical thought to challenge the hegemony of Eurocentric perspectives and promote dialogues between knowledges that envision a decolonising social transformation. My article elaborates what thinking with Afro-descendant knowledge looks like in the contemporary Brazilian context. See C Walsh, 'Shifting the geopolitics of critical knowledge: decolonial thought and cultural studies "Others" in the Andes', Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 2007, pp 224–239. 3 Ibid. 4 Following anthropologist João Vargas, I characterise my method as observant participation, which emphasises participation first and observation second and accentuates the researcher's commitment to the anti-racist efforts and actions observed. Like Vargas, I see the commitment to participation and to those involved in the research as strengthening the analysis, as it demands greater vigilance in relation to understanding the contribution and consequences of sociological research to everyday struggles for equality and dignity. See J Vargas, 'Hyperconsciousness of race and its negation: the dialectic of white supremacy in Brazil', Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 11(4), 2004, pp 443–470. 5 S White, 'Thinking race, thinking development', Third World Quarterly, 23(3), 2002, pp 407–419; and U Kothari, 'An agenda for thinking about "race" in development', Progress in Development Studies, 6(1), 2006, pp 9–23. 6 DL Van Cott, The Friendly Liquidation of the Past: The Politics of Diversity in Latin America, Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000, p 17. 7 J Hooker, 'Afro-descendant struggles for collective rights in Latin America: between race and culture', Souls, 10(3), 2008, pp 279–280; and J Hooker, 'Indigenous inclusion/black exclusion: race, ethnicity and multicultural citizenship in Latin America', Journal of Latin American Studies, 37(2), 2005, pp 285–310. 8 W Assies, 'The challenge of diversity in rural Latin America: a rejoinder to Jean-Pierre Reed (and others)', Journal of Peasant Studies, 32(2), 2005, pp 361–371; CR Hale, 'Does multiculturalism menace? Governance, cultural rights and the politics of identity in Guatemala', Journal of Latin American Studies, 34(3), 2002, pp 485–524; Hale, 'Neoliberal multiculturalism', Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 28(1), 2005, pp 10–19; and S Speed & MT Sierra, 'Critical perspectives on human rights and multiculturalism in neoliberal Latin America', Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 28(1), 2005, pp 1–9. 9 B Gustafson, 'The paradoxes of liberal indigenism: indigenous movements, state processes, and intercultural reforms in Bolivia', in D Maybury-Lewis (ed), The Politics of Ethnicity: Indigenous Peoples in Latin American States, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2002, pp 267–306. 10 CE Walsh, 'The (re)articulation of political subjectivities and colonial difference in Ecuador: reflections on capitalism and the geopolitics of knowledge', Nepantla, 3(1), 2002, pp 61–97. 11 The introduction to this special issue outlines the dynamics of this tendency. See also papers in this issue by Sioh and Sengupta for other examples of the limits and possibilities of incorporating 'difference' into development thinking. 12 P Wade, 'Rethinking mestizaje: ideology and lived experience', Journal of Latin American Studies, 37(2), 2005, pp 239–257. 13 DF da Silva, 'Facts of blackness: Brazil is not (quite) the United States … and racial politics in Brazil?', Social Identities, 4(2), 1998, pp 201–234. 14 ASA Guimarães, 'Racism and anti-racism in Brazil', in BP Bowser (ed), Racism and Anti-Racism in World Perspective, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995, pp 208–226; and C Moura, Sociologia do Negro Brasileiro, São Paulo: Editora Atica, 1988. 15 MG Hanchard, Orpheus and Power: The Movimento Negro of Rio De Janeiro and São Paulo, Brazil, 1945–1988, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994, p 21. 16 L Sansone, Blackness without Ethnicity: Constructing Race in Brazil, New York: Palgrave, 2003, ch 2; JT dos Santos, O Poder da Cultura e a Cultura no Poder: Disputa Simbólica da Herança Cultural Negra no Brasil, Salvador: edufba, 2005. 17 Hanchard, Orpheus and Power, p 22. 18 M Htun, 'From "racial democracy" to affirmative action: changing state policy on race in Brazil', Latin American Research Review, 39(1), 2004, pp 60–89. 19 E Telles, Race in another America: The Significance of Skin Color in Brazil, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2004; and Htun, 'From "racial democracy" to affirmative action'. 20 JH French, 'Ethnoracial identity in a neoliberal age: government recognition of difference in northeast Brazil', in J Burdick, P Oxhorn & K Roberts (eds), Beyond Neoliberalism in Latin America, New York: Palgrave, 2009, pp 101–113. 21 J Collins, '"But what if I should need to defecate in your neighborhood madame?" Empire, redemption, and the "tradition of the oppressed" in a Brazilian World Heritage Site', Cultural Anthropology, 23(2), 2008, pp 279–328; and KY Perry, 'The roots of black resistance: race, gender and the struggle for urban land rights in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil', Social Identities, 10(6), pp 811–831. 22 P Armstrong, 'The aesthetic escape hatch: Carnaval, blocos Afro and the mutations of baianidade under the signs of globalisation and re-Africanisation', 5(2), 1999, pp 65–98; P de Santana Pinho, Reinvençes Da África Na Bahia, São Paulo: Annablume, 2004; and Sansone, Blackness without Ethnicity. 23 Or[ugrave]nmilá signifies the father or embodiment of knowledge/wisdom in Yoruba spirituality. 24 'Pai' and 'Mãe' refer to 'father' and 'mother', respectively, and are titles used for priests and priestesses of Candomblé. Candomblé developed in 19th century Brazil and consists of various 'nations' that draw heavily on West African (Yoruba, Ewe and Fon) or Bantu spiritual practices recreated in Brazil. Different nations worship Orixás, Voduns, or Inkices, deities that exhibit particular personalities and traits, while oral tradition and ritual practices in terreiros transmit cosmologies and mythologies. Over time Candomblé has maintained a relatively stable system of meanings, practices and forms of sociality—understandings of space, time, human interaction, history, knowledge, movement and identity. 25 Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian martial art/dance, considered a mode of black resistance and collectivity since slavery. Samba music and dance originated in the late 19th/early 20th century and have strong Afro-Brazilian percussive and rhythmic influences. Samba de roda is a more 'traditional' form danced in a circle. 26 For more on these tensions, see AE Da Costa, 'The difference Or[ugrave]nmilá makes: the past as project in an Afro-Brazilian struggle', PhD dissertation, Cornell University, 2009. 27 For an examination of the nature of Or[ugrave]nmilá's critique of miscegenation, see AE Da Costa, 'Anti-racism in movement: Afro-Brazilian afoxé and contemporary black struggles for equality', Journal of Historical Sociology, forthcoming. 28 PCP de Oliveira & S Nogueira, 'As dimens[otilde]es inseparáveis de política e cultura e a luta do cc Or[ugrave]nmilá', Sorò Dúdú: Fala Negro, May 2004, p 2, emphasis added. 29 The intention here is not to idealise Candombléterreiros as pristine sites of 'tradition' and resistance without conflicts, contradictions, diverse opinions or capitulations to co-optation by power (monetary, institutional, symbolic, etc). These issues do exist among diverse temples and communities of worship. However, corresponding to ancestralidade as Afro-diasporic political practice oriented towards social transformation, I privilege the counter-hegemonic philosophies and struggles that emerge within these spaces and are mobilised by groups like Or[ugrave]nmilá. 30 PCP de Oliveira & NR de Oliveira, 'Ecologia e a tradição religiosa Africana', Sorò Dúdú: Fala Negro, May 2004, p 3. 31 R Harding, A Refuge in Thunder: Candomblé and Alternative Spaces of Blackness, Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2000. 32 Axé is a form of creative and spiritual energy or life force. 33 M Sodré, O Terreiro e a Cidade: A Forma Social Negro–Brasileira, Salvador: Secretaria da Cultura e Turismo, 2002, p 20. 34 'Centro Cultural Or[ugrave]nmilá e a 10,639', Sorò Dúdú: Fala Negro, November 2006, p 5. 35 On this particular aspect of Afro-diasporic ancestrality, see also C Walsh & E León, 'Afro-Andean thought and diasporic ancestrality', in MP Banchetti-Robino & CR Headley (eds), Shifting the Geography of Reason: Gender, Science, Religion, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2006, pp 211–224. 36 Ibid, p 215, emphasis added. 37 The Or[ugrave]nmilá Centre receives municipal funding for its afoxé in the annual carnival parade (50% of that allocated to individual samba schools). Centre members occasionally receive modest stipends for conducting municipal cultural workshops. They receive no funding from international organisations interested in promoting black issues or addressing racial inequality in Brazil. At the time this article was submitted for publication, the occ was recognised by the state of São Paulo Culture Secretariat as a ponto de cultura (point of culture). This not only acknowledges its work, but will also award it a grant to develop its work and expand its activities. 38 See also D Da Costa in this issue on activism simultaneously invested in state formation and autonomy from political party interests; and Cons and Paprocki on villagers simultaneously critical of and dependent on multiple forms of credit-providers. 39 These individuals are involved in Or[ugrave]nmilá's work, but they did not occupy any leadership or decision-making positions within the organisation at the time. State officials imagined that opening local government posts might reduce black movement activity. However, Or[ugrave]nmilá has persistently scrutinised government progress on its demands, reflecting its leaders' vocal opposition to governmental clientelism or patronage that might seek to co-opt or mediate black movement claims. 40 For an analysis contrasting Or[ugrave]nmilá's work with discourses of diversity and inclusion used by municipal officials, see AE Da Costa, 'Decolonizing knowledge: education, inclusion, and the Afro-Brazilian anti-racist struggle', in P McMichael (ed), Contesting Development: Critical Struggles for Social Change, New York: Routledge, 2010. 41 Interviews with school teachers and principals in Ribeirão Preto in 2009 confirm that none dealt with the racial theme in their own university education. This reflects how racial democracy produced particular racialised exclusions, despite discourses of equality and unity. University curricula have begun changing in this regard. 42 See, for example, E Cavalleiro (ed), Racismo e Anti-Racismo na Educação, São Paulo: Selo Negro, 2001; V Machado, 'Por uma pedagogia nagô', in DPRD Fonseca (ed), Resistência e Inclusão: História, Cultura, Educação e Cidadania Afro-descendentes no Brasil e nos Estados Unidos, Rio de Janeiro: Pontificia Universidade Catolica, 2003, pp 119–137; and H Theodoro, 'Buscando caminhos nas tradiç[otilde]es', in K Munanga (ed), Superando o Racismo na Educação, Brasília: Ministério da Educação, 2005, pp 83–100. 43 'Centro Cultural Or[ugrave]nmilá e a 10,639', pp 4–5. See also D Botelho, 'Orixás/Inquices/Voduns e perspectivas educacionais', Ìrohìn, 11(18), 2006, pp 16–17; and J Xavier, 'O pale decisivo das pesquisas para o conhecimento dos valores ancestrais afrodescendentes', in MLS Braga, EP Souza & AFM Pinto (eds), Dimens[otilde]es da Inclusão no Ensino Médio: Mercado de trabalho, religiosidade e educação quilombola, Brasilia: secad, 2006, pp 131–138. 44 See, for example, AFJ de Almeida, 'Unveiling the mirror: Afro-Brazilian identity and the emergence of a community school movement', Comparative Education Review, 47(1), 2003, pp 41–63; JE King-Calnek, 'Education for citizenship: interethnic pedagogy and formal education at Escola Criativa Olodum', Urban Review, 38(2), 2006, pp 145–164; V Machado, Il≖ Axé: Viv≖ncias e Invenção Pedagógica: as Crianças do Opô Afonjá, Salvador: edufba, 2002; and Machado, 'Por uma pedagogia nagô'. 45 'Centro Cultural Or[ugrave]nmilá e a 10,639', p 5. 46 Ibid. 47 This problem is also present in forms of 'racialised' expertise within development institutions and practice. See, for example, E Crewe & P Fernando, 'The elephant in the room: racism in representations, relationships and rituals', Progress in Development Studies, 6(1), 2006, pp 40–54. 48 Such reactions reflect the ongoing power of the notion that 'race' is not an issue, as well as defensive sentiments that one's own school is immune to racism and discrimination. 49 A more detailed analysis and report by the author of project results is currently in progress. 50 A text of her resignation (in Portuguese), where she highlights the accomplishments of the Projeto Baobá and her reasons for resigning, is available in AfroPress, at http://www.afropress.com/noticiasLer.asp?id=1892.