From kutanda, we remember the history of a territory build by people whose identities born in African land. Where the knowledge brought with these historical bodies based customs and living practices. Where ontological spirituality renews earthly happiness through ancestral sharing that reaffirms suburban messages, and memories of the territory that are present through jambetes and funks dance parties, and various other forms of resistance.
This is Petrópolis, this is Brazil. The history of glamor and roulette bends to what has always been here, what the whitening discourse insists on denying: the flaws in the fables that tell us about our cities.
It is a joy to live to be able to see the African name “kutanda” to revive through the gaps of the language.
From Kutanda to Quitandinha
The word Quitandinha has its origin in Kimbundu, a language spoken in Angola, the former Kingdom of Dongo, the place of origin of many Africans who make up the large Afro-Brazilian population. That way, kitanda (street market greengrocers) comes from the term kutanda (to go far away). This place dates back to the historical origins of the presence that took place in this territory, where the profession of “quitandeiras” — black women who were present in the street market greengrocers — generated an important share of the 19th century economy.
The unique history in Petrópolis means that black people experiences are removed from the city's memory, generating a long and systematic process of erasing these presences. By rejecting this forged narrative, we subvert the gaping history, recovering a kind of ancestral harmony. The black history of Petrópolis will be told from the beginning of what we know as the city, where African technologies built the foundations of our existence here.
Video Thomas Mendel.
Photography Thomas Mendel, Lucas Landau.
LANDS and
TOPONYMIES
Africans, Afro-descendants and native peoples are the owners of the knowledge that made it possible to reach Petrópolis. Those leaving the province of Rio de Janeiro, from Cais dos Mineiros, currently Casa França-Brasil, crossed the Guanabara Bay in African boats, named “faluas”. Those who disembarked at Porto da Estrela and followed the Caminho Novo, a stretch that corresponded to the route from that port to Padre Correias' farm. The history of the Historic part of the city is not the history of the territorial and population formation of Petrópolis. There is much more richness and diversity, as records of resistance of those who regained freedom and formed the quilombos Maria Conga, Vargem Grande, Maria Comprida, Tapera.
It is necessary to rise up and use mechanisms that educate us about the divergences of official means, such as the names of the neighborhoods Carangola, Caxambu, Quissamã and Quitandinha, which are known to be of African origin; Itaipava and Itamarati are of indigenous origin. These are complaints that reveal the importance of knowing the processes of history's choices, breaking with eurocentric approaches that destroy and attack knowledge from other peoples. It is no longer possible to talk about contributions; It is necessary to talk about the leading role, the technologies of the nations that thought about our localities and our cities, who thought about Brazil to lift it up.
ORIGIN of the
WORD
They stole the “k” from the word kutanda, and, in the colony common language, they use “q”. The word itself does not make difference at the sound, but changes the history, the geographical origin and many word attachments. Restoring our phonemes is a way of consolidating black presences that highlight the tension between place-space and forged narratives.
Recovering from mouths the words that are spiritual and founding to us is an insurgent technology of black reconquest.
QUITANDINHA de
ERÊ
It is a afro-religious ritual which one the “quitanda” or “quitandinha” is a festivity offered to erês at the Angola nation candomblé houses. In baskets and straw mats, fruits are displayed and sold, reminiscent of African markets and black people enslaves market, who sold “quitutes” (delicacies) to buy their freedom.
The energy rises, axé flows through the exchange of food and coins, purifying the guests, daughters and sons of the candomblé house. A heal quitanda, where the joy predominates at all times in the visible and invisible.
THE FLOW of
AFRICAN
TECHNOLOGIES
The African Technologies allowed the establishment of large population groups in this territory. The technical presence of black people contributed to urban changes, interaction with local flora and fauna, planting and food processing. The Africans who arrived in our territory had great knowledge of fishing and agriculture, being skilled yam and palm tree growers. They also managed herds of goats and hunted wild boar. They were excellent potters and blacksmiths, historically mastering the techniques of ceramics and forging. Their contribution to the beginning of social spaces took place definitively during the formation of Brazil.
A support point for the passage of cattle drivers and other travelers, the quitanda was a warehouse for complete equipment, all types of repair services in metal, leather and wood, supplements for meals, drinks, clothing and health care — African peoples also had great knowledge of natural medicine. It was an essential service for travelers, and for first residents of the quitanda region, that used to supply all the former city. It was through its, the quitanda, its services and knowledge that immigrants from other lands survived.
ANCESTRAL
KUTANDA
Possible path of reinvention written by black hands, based on the reclaiming of time-space. Reinterpretation of places, narratives, people and practices, giving new meaning to the territory. We passed by here, we were here, we resisted and we did not destroyed nothing — on the contrary, we are and continue to be supports of this land.
A ritual of rebirth with the deification of the deceased ancestor. Where memories resulting from the repetitive accumulation of black human experience resurface as suburban experiences that overlap and give life to insurgent movements celebrating Afro-Brazilian culture and traditions. Here, we connect to the historical ancestry of kutanda's origin and territorial occupation. In understanding the historical past, an arrow appears pointing to the future.
JAMBETES
The Baile das Jambetes (Jambete’s Ball) movement has had more than 40 editions since its debut in the 1950s. Idealized by José dos Santos, known as Zezinho, a producer from the city of Petrópolis with more than 900 events held in the city, including shows, balls and parades, many of them at Quitandinha Palace. The name “jambete” appears to trick censorship regarding the promotion of events with names such as afro, negro or black, associating black bodies with the color of the Brazilian fruit jambo.
At those balls we find all of this, a sensitive and affirming place, where black bodies are celebrated and their lives are commemorated. Promoting encounter, identity, celebration of black beauty and happiness.
FURACÃO 2000
It is a record of the trajectory of a family immersed in the desire to communicate, making their expertise in sound technology transform into a radio, then into a cinema and, finally, into the sound team that became a symbol of Brazilian dances for many decades — the Furacão 2000. This is narrated in Guarany — I am the boy from Cinema Paradiso, by Aline Castella, which records the origins of the Baile da Furacão 2000 (Funk Ball of Furacão 2000), at Quitandinha Palace. Many of our actions are the results of dreams and the realization of every project of those who came before us. Guarany tells us that success is being prepared for the opportunities that lie ahead.
From Kutanda to Quitandinha
Curators
Filipe Graciano, Marcelo Campos
y Renata Aquino