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Luiza Mahin

Luiza Mahin was born some time in the 1800s in either the Gulf of Benin, West Africa or Bahia (her exact place of birth and birth date are uncertain) and claimed to be of African royalty. Based on her surname, she is assumed to be of the Mahi tribe from the Nagô (a subgroup of the Yoruba) nation who were practitioners of Islam. Luiza Mahin is most iconically known to have been very involved in many of the slave revolts and uprisings that occurred in Bahia during the early half of the nineteenth century. She was a key player and strategist in the Malê Revolt as she helped to distribute messages in Arabic to others involved. It is said that had the Malê Revolt been successful, she would have been declared the “Queen of Bahia”. It’s not clear whatever happened to Luiza Mahin. Some reports say she escaped to Rio de Janeiro, was found and arrested before being deported to Angola. Other tales say that she escaped to Maranhão where she settled and helped to influence Afro-Brazilian culture there. She had at least one son, Luiz Gama, who was a well-renowned Bahian poet and abolitionist who had this to say about her:

“I am the native son of a black African woman, free, of the Nagô nation, whose name is Luiza Mahin, pagan, who always refused baptism and christian doctrine. My mother was short, thin, beautiful, the color of jet black unglazed, teeth white like snow. Haughty, generous, a sufferer, and vengeful.”

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Understanding Afro-Brazilian Feminism

With regard to feminism, the following brief articles offer some insight on the Afro-Brasileira experience:

  • Black Feminism in Brazil – The Role of Religion, Afro-Brazilian Feminism and Two Non-Governmental Organizations
  • Feminism in the Favela
  • Fighting Poverty, Plagued by Violence: Why 10,000 Black Women in Brazil Marched for Their Rights

{Racial divides in Brazilian feminism can be traced to a foundational chasm in relationship to work. “We speak of the issue of the ditch,” dos Santos explained, “we realize the feminist movement is by white middle-class women and that these white women are demanding their right to go to work, while the poor black women, have been in the market ever since.”}

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Lélia Gonzalez: Afro-feminist

Lélia Gonzalez was an intellectual and activist of the Movimento Negro (Black Movement) in Brazil and primarily responsible for the development of black feminism in Brazil. Gonzalez was born in 1935 and grew up to challenge the reality of social vulnerability by achieving her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology, confronting racism and sexism in the social sphere, and organizing political actions while producing scholarly works. She was a member of the Unified Black Movement (MNU), an organization that changed the history of Black activism in Brazil in the 1970s. Gonzalez is credited with connecting common experiences of black women from Latin America and bringing those experiences to a national debate about the condition of black women and colonization. She was one of the few black women in Brazil who had the opportunity to participate in international discussions of the feminist movement and connect with organized Black women in Latin America and in the African diaspora as a whole. From this experience, Gonzalez advocated the construction of an Afro-feminist agenda in Latin America since Black women, in different contexts, were subjected to similar conditions of inequality and discrimination. Gonzalez’ theory of the intersectionality of race, social class, and gender as articulated categories of social marginalization is still the subject of debate in Brazil in the studies of Black women.

In 2010, the government of the state of Bahia created the Lélia Gonzalez Award to encourage public policies towards women in Bahian municipalities.

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Batalá Washington celebrates Black History Month Batalá Washington celebrates Black History Month and joins in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society. We honor the roots of the music we play as well as our Black artists and musicians. Did you know that Samba-reggae arose in the context of the Black Pride Movement that occurred in the city of Salvador de Bahia, around the year 1969, and it still carries connotations of ethnic identity and pride for Afro-Brazilians today? #blackhistorymonth #blacklivesmatter #batalahey #sambareggaemusic #musicofresistance
Every year on February Second, some million or mor Every year on February Second, some million or more people in the Brazilian city of Salvador, Bahia, walk in procession through the streets of the Rio Vermelho district of that city, all dressed in white, making their way down to the seashore and the small house that's said to be the home of Yemanjá, a powerful goddess (Orixá) in the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé. Yemanjá is the essence of motherhood, the protector of children, fishermen and sailors, and most importantly, she is the sea itself. When the celebrants reach the shore Yemanjá's they pass their baskets laden with gifts for the goddess to fishermen to take out to sea and leave them on the waters as offerings to the Orixá. Gifts for Yemanjá often include images of the goddess, flowers and objects of female vanity (perfume, jewelry, combs, lipsticks, mirrors). Later in the day, the festival of Yemanjá becomes a massive street party which carries on into the night.

In the synchristic tradition that blends the Orixás who traveled to Brazil with African slaves with the saints and holy figures of Christianity who arrived with the Portuguese,  Yemanjá is identified with certain aspects of the Virgin Mary, and February Second in the Roman Catholic calendar is the day of Our Lady of Navigators (Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes). The celebrants at Salvador's festival honor one divinity in two personages, the African Yemanjá and the Christian Our Lady, without thoughts of separation or difference between the two.

Gifts for Yemanjá
As with all the gods and goddess of the Candomblé tradition, Yemanjá is associated with certain foods, and these foods are offered to her on her special day as well as eaten by her devotees at the street festival that follows the ceremonical activities of the day. Yemanjá's colors, like the Virgin Mary's, are white and blue - obvious choices for a Rainha do Mar (Queen of the Sea). An Orixá's favorite foods are often visually connected with his or her image and chosen colors, Yemanjá's special food are white, or very light in color (there are very few foods that are truly blue). Yemanjá prefers sweet foods, making such dishes as honeyed rice and sweet corn puddings.
We couldn’t help but to join in the Bernie fun! We couldn’t help but to join in the Bernie fun! Thanks to our drummer gal @jcon2313 for the photo edit! 😅🙌🏽🎉 #batalahey #berniesanders #berniesmittens
Wishing you all, our friends and family, a wonderf Wishing you all, our friends and family, a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! We hope we get to perform for you in person in 2021! #batalahey #oneloveonedrum 🎉💪🏽🎶🥁
Memories of last year (2019) when we added music a Memories of last year (2019) when we added music and percussion background sounds to the “Un Violador En Tu Camino” manifestation supporting all the survivors of sexual assault, violence and harrassment. #elvioladorerestú #lastesis #saynotoviolenceagainstwomen
We SOO miss playing at this great yearly event! ❤️😩 But all the love to our friends at @krampusnachtdc for the awesome video 👌🏽🎉❤️ #batalahey #oneloveonedrum❤️🥁
Happy “I can’t, I have practice” day to all Happy “I can’t, I have practice” day to all our fellow musicians of the world! #internationalmusiciansday #batalahey #oneloveonedrum❤️🥁
#Repost @batala_atenas Our music has its roots in #Repost @batala_atenas
Our music has its roots in Salvador in Bahia, and is filled with a big dose of brazilian samba...last year some of us were lucky enough to visit our home of inspiration and play with @batala_brasilia, alongside our Batala friends from across the world. It was such an amazing experience...truly unforgettable! #OneLoveOneDrum ❤️🥁

#Athens #Greece #expression_greece #batala #batalamundo #batalaatenas #sambareggae #samba #brazilianmusic #brazil #brazilian #brazilianmusic #takemebacktobrazil #brazil🇧🇷
Felíz Dia de los Muertos DC! #diadelosmuertos #ba Felíz Dia de los Muertos DC! #diadelosmuertos #batalahey #batalamundo #washingtondclife #washingtondcmusicians #tamboreras #womendrummers
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