An unmissable script through the Festa da Boa Morte, one of the most traditional manifestations of black culture in Cachoeira, in the Baiano Recôncavo

Those who wish to get to know an authentic cultural manifestation of Bahia must experience up close the Festa da Boa Morte, one of the most traditional celebrations of the memory and black culture of the Bahian Recôncavo! Birthplace of Samba de Roda, Cachoeira is the stage for the procession that has been taking place for over 230 years through the historic streets of the colonial city, on the banks of the Paraguassu River, one of the most important in Bahia.

The Festival is organized by the Irmandade da Boa Morte, an association formed by black women over 40 years old. The brotherhood was a space of affirmation and resistance for women and black culture in society.

During the celebrations, over 60 thousand people attend the festivities, including tourists from all over the country, Europe, and mainly from the United States of America. This year, the activities will take place from August 12th to 17th.

The Bahian Recôncavo is the region of Bahia where African traditions have been most preserved and Cachoeira, a sort of Mecca where black people come in search of their origins.

According to the Brotherhood's page, the history of the religious fraternity of Boa Morte is intertwined with the massive arrival of enslaved people from the coast of Africa to the Recôncavo, where there were many sugar cane, tobacco, and other plantations. For more than three centuries, Cachoeira was the second most economically important city in Bahia.

In Colonial Brazil, although there were other fraternities for different social classes and racial profiles, almost none were exclusively for women. In order for a brotherhood to function legally, says historian João José Reis, it needed to find a church that would welcome it and have its statutes approved by an ecclesiastical authority.

Composed of women descendants of enslaved people, the Brotherhood of Boa Morte was founded around 1820 in a patriarchal society marked by strong racial contrast. To join the brotherhood, it is still necessary to be over 40 years old (novices). Currently, the oldest sister, Dona Filhinha, is 107 years old.

Most of the records about the Brotherhood were lost in a fire in one of the churches where it was headquartered, in 1984. It is estimated that at its strongest phase, the organization had over 200 members. Despite its historical value, it was only in 2010 that the Brotherhood was recognized as Intangible Heritage of Bahia.

The fraternity always required its members to collaborate. Entry jewelry, annual dues, collected alms, and other forms of income were always used for various purposes: buying freedom, holding feasts, religious obligations.

The Brotherhood became an international reference for its cultural richness and the role of social and political representation of its members. The brotherhoods were strategic spaces for former enslaved people, where they could profess the dominant religion without giving up their ancestral beliefs.

Although linked to different traditional churches of the local colonial elite, the women introduced to the liturgical acts various rituals and symbols of African origin, with banquets offered to all participants and lots of Samba de Roda – elements that still characterize the celebrations today!

At the estimated time of its foundation – about 70 years before the abolition of slavery – Cachoeira was inhabited by descendants of the Jejes and Ketus peoples, from different African regions, many of whom had already been freed through the articulation of the brotherhoods and due to the economic success of the city – which abandoned sugar cultivation to become a producer of high-quality tobacco and an exporting port of the regional production.

In a politically tense period, with conflicts over independence and the abolition of slavery, there were different religious and civil initiatives for the emancipation of blacks. Cosmopolitan, the descendants of Africans maintained strong ties with enslaved blacks from many cities, especially Salvador, and were involved in uprisings for political independence and abolition of slavery in the country – such as the Malê Revolt (1835).

To fully appreciate the richness of this typically Afro-Brazilian cultural manifestation, there is nothing better than an immersive and unique experience! Our partner AfroTours specializes in ethnic tourism in Bahia and will take us to experience the festival from the inside!