https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5393-2552
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ABSTRACT
In the African Diaspora, travel remains an integral component of diasporic exchange and aspirations of belonging. For many, visiting continental Africa or segments of its Diaspora can foster or strengthen self-recognition and narrative ownership. In this article, we examine how these potential outcomes related to different forms of Quilombola travel, such as transatlantic return (Quilombolas travelling to Africa) and destination-making (Quilombos as travel destinations). To analyse the latter concept, we observed tourism development in the Quilombo Campinho da Independência, in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro. For the former, we analysed a 2010 trip to West Africa by Quilombolas from Santa Rosa dos Pretos, Filipa and Santa Joana, in Maranhão. While individual experiences and interpretations varied among interviewees, the majority framed engagements with travel and tourism as a means of resistance. They demonstrated that when equitable and community-led, travel contributes to long-term anti-racism and anti-oppression initiatives in addition to its aforementioned benefits.
De volta às raízes: viagem quilombola no Brasil e África Oeste
Na diáspora africana, retornar, é um elemento integral de intercâmbio e vínculos de pertencimento. Para muitas pessoas, viajar ao continente africano ou a locais da diáspora, fortalece o auto reconhecimento e o resgate de narrativas próprias. Neste artigo, examinamos a dinâmica entre viagem e identidade no turismo étnico através de dois tipos de viagem: o retorno transatlântico (Quilombolas viajando para a África) e o desenvolvimento do turismo local (Quilombos como destinos de viagem). Com base na análise, observamos o desenvolvimento do turismo no Quilombo do Campinho da Independência, em Paraty, Rio de Janeiro; e uma viagem de quilombolas de Santa Rosa dos Pretos, Filipa e Santa Joana, no Maranhão, à África Ocidental em 2010. Embora experiências individuais e interpretações variem entre os entrevistados, a maioria dos participantes deste estudo revelaram que as viagens de retorno e turismo local são formas de resistência. As entrevistas demonstraram que o turismo, quando igualitário e liderado pela comunidade, contribui para iniciativas a longo prazo de antirracismo e anti-opressão, além dos benefícios mencionados anteriormente.
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Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Quilombolas are residents of Quilombos or places that are reminiscent of Quilombos, which are defined in this article as communities historically rooted in anti-slavery and anti-colonial resistance (Miki, Citation2018).
2 The process of territory recognition for Filipa (CPISP, Citation2020a) and Santa Joana (CPISP, Citation2020b) commenced in 2004, while Santa Rosa dos Pretos commenced in 2008 (CPISP, Citation2020c).
3 Real names are used in instances where participants consented to the use of their first name.
4 This Bissauan organization as one of the key organizers of the 2010 Quilombola trip from Maranhão, Brazil or Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau.
5 Endangered palm tree variety.
6 Secretaria de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial (SEPPIR), Ministry of Social Development (MDS), Petrobrás, and the University Foundation of Brasilia (FUBRA).
7 “O Percurso dos Quilombos: de África para o Brasil e o regresso às origens.”
8 An independent community forged in opposition of liturgical reforms enacted in Cape Verde in the 1940s (Júnior, Citation1974).
9 Organizers of Cacheu’s Memorial da Escravatura e do Tráfico Negreiro, which was inaugurated in 2016, recognize the Quilombola visit as one of the catalysts for its development (Caldeira, Citation2016).
10 Some of the concepts described in this section have been further developed by one of this paper’s authors in a different publication (Silva, Citation2020).