QUILOMBOLA IDENTITY IN HELVÉCIA: MEMORY, TRADITION, AND CULTURAL RESIGNIFICATION ACROSS GENERATIONS

Abstract

Abstract

This article analyzes the construction and resignification of quilombola identity in the community of Helvécia, a district of Nova Viçosa, in the Far South of Bahia, Brazil, with emphasis on the relationships among memory, ancestry, cultural expressions, territory, and youth. The study seeks to understand how cultural traditions and new forms of youth expression contribute to the construction, maintenance, and resignification of quilombola identity. The research was conducted through a bibliographic review and fieldwork, using an ethnographic approach that involved interviews and dialogues with residents from different generations, including participants in traditional cultural expressions and young members of the Os Brutos group. The results show that territory constitutes an important element of belonging and collective memory, and that its transformations resulting from the expansion of eucalyptus monoculture are also perceived as transformations in social and identity relations. The study also highlights the role of Black women in mobilizing for quilombola recognition and in transmitting knowledge and cultural practices across generations. Bate-barriga emerges as an expression of ancestry, memory, resistance, and identity affirmation. Regarding youth, the incorporation of new cultural expressions does not necessarily represent the abandonment of traditions; rather, it may constitute new forms of sociability, belonging, and cultural continuity. In this context, the Os Brutos group demonstrates the creation of contemporary forms of organization and solidarity articulated with the community's memories and historical ties. It is concluded that quilombola identity in Helvécia constitutes a dynamic process, continuously produced through the relationships between memory and the present, tradition and innovation, territorial permanence and displacement.