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Black Pastoral Agents and the Bible in the Afro Context: A Hermeneutic of Years of Enchantment

2017; Wiley; Volume: 67; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/cro.2017.a782615

1939-3881

Obertal Xavier Ribeiro,

Urban Development and Societal Issues

Black Pastoral Agents and the Bible in the Afro Context: A Hermeneutic of Years of Enchantment Obertal Xavier Ribeiro Introduction In order to reflect on the 32 years of presence and action of the Black Pastoral Agents, it is necessary to consider the articulation between the Word and life. Amidst so much suffering, an enchantment remains: the certainty of our faith in a liberating God, who walked with our ancestors and walks with us. He reveals Himself through various and different manifestations existing in the black community, in religions and cultures, manifestations that create the need for dialogue and encounters. This revelation has shaped the way we celebrate and remember of the role of black people in these years of history and experience, in the places and spaces we occupy, in our origins, in the present and the future. Interpreting these years indicates a path, a feeling of appreciation for the steps already taken, steps that were not taken by us, but that we continue to remember firmly today; we sing them, dance them, celebrate them, and finally live them. From living to chanting Part of this text was created and, one could also argue, lived from the daily commute to work on the train from Central, the mass transportation system that serves the Baixada Fluminense, and is part of the daily life of many black men and women of Nova Iguaçu. We first asked ourselves: Is this the place of the black and the poor? These comings and goings, of course, reminded us of slave ships. This inhuman type of transportation that once brought our black people from Africa is somewhat similar to the one that now, using railroads, takes people from the suburbs to downtown Rio de Janeiro to produce wealth for someone else. We think of theology at this place in particular, taking the Baixada Fluminense as our reference. It is a place where many who came from other parts of Brazil live, people who profoundly experienced the Exodus and the scars of slavery; they move along, swung not by waves of the ocean but by the sway of the trains, dreaming about liberation on the quilombos (TN: hinterland settlement founded by slaves that fled from the plantations in Brazil). It's worth remembering a poem by Solano Trindade : The filthy Leopoldina train running, runningseems to say there are hungry peoplethere are hungry people, there are hungry people…Choo‐choooooooooo!Caxias station once again, to say it again, running,there are hungry people, there are hungry people, there are hungry peopleVigário Geral, Lucas, Cordovil, Brás de Pina, Penha shuttlePenha Station, Olaria, Ramos, Bonsucesso, Carlos ChagasTriagem, Mauá, filthy Leopoldina train running, runningseems to say there are hungry people, there are hungry people, there are hungry peopleSo many sad faces, wanting to reach some destination, somewhereThe filthy Leopoldina train running, runningseems to say there are hungry people, there are hungry people, there are hungry peopleOnly in the stations while slowly stopping, it starts to sayif there are hungry people, feed them; if there are hungry people, feed themif there are hungry people, feed themBut the air brake, authoritarian, tells the train to shut up, Pssssssssst! This leads us to think and recall a very common song among Black Pastoral Agents when we were organizing ourselves to prepare our formation and our celebrations in the communities. We sung it many times in our meetings throughout Brazil: “Eu sou lá da África” (“I am from Africa”). It is worth revisiting the lyrics, so simple and meaningful to our experience: I'm from there! From Africa!If I'm not from there, my parents are, from Africa.I'm from there! From Africa!If I'm not from there, my grandparents are, from Africa.I'm from there! From Africa!If I'm not from there, my ancestors are, from Africa.Because of my color, because of my smile!Because of my walking, because of my Samba!I'm from there! From Africa!If I'm not from there, my parents are, from Africa.I'm from there! From Africa!If I'm not from there...