Trajectories and memories: narrative of a black quilombola woman permeated by a nursery rhyme

Abstract

This paper is based on reflections made in the Doctorate Program in Cultural Processes and Manifestations - Feevale University/RS and addresses the narrative of a black woman: Trajectories and memories of Xixica, a resident of the Paredão Baixo Quilombo, in Taquara, RS. Oral history and ethnography constitute the methodological approach, which enabled the understanding of how the construction of a narrative was woven through different aspects of this woman's life, remembering a circle dance song sung by her mother when remembering the loss of a son. From this perspective, the text also discusses some of the elements of a circle dance song, ranging from its structure (circle dance, instrumentation, words, singing, playfulness) to issues relating to the socio-historical and cultural context. The circle dance song that emerged amid Xixica’s narrative transcended memory, allowing her to bring to light her trajectory, that of her family, and that of the quilombola community. It also made it possible to see how yesterday’s realities are interwoven in this narrative, which, among the various ways in which Xixica spoke about herself and her socio-cultural surroundings, opens up space for reflections/transformations that can enable not only singing, playing a musical instrument and expressing the body through dance, but also the memories of these musical gestures to also converge into actions that offer a search for more dignified living conditions.