“Nós queremos ficar é aqui e daqui nós não vamos sair”: histórias, memórias e lutas de quilombolas no Vale do Rio Guaribas-Piauí (2003-2023)

Abstract

This thesis is a critical analysis of the histories, narratives and memories of two quilombola communities from Guaribas River Valley territory, in the semi-arid region of Piauí. It deals with issues that are always present in the daily life of these quilombos, such as the struggle and the right to regularisation of the land they inhabit, ethnicity, conflicts, activism, government policies and culture. The time frame within which the research began was 2003, taking as its starting point the projects developed by the Piauí government targeting to Rural Black Communities. The aim of the study is to investigate the conflicts, tensions, dilemmas and memories of enslavement, as well as the socio-cultural everyday life that has been established in the Custaneira and Mutamba quilombos. We analyse the land tenure situation and discuss the configuration of power relations in the region, as well as the political articulation of the quilombos‘s inhabitants in order to participate effectively in the government projects targeting the quilombola population. Photographs, laws and decrees relating to the quilombos were also used as sources, as well as excerpts from statements by quilombola leaders, news published by EMATER-PI and the Official Gazette of the Government of Piauí. The quilombos of the Guaribas River Valley are historically marked by the memory of having been subjugated to landowners. Now that they who are now aware of their rights, they no longer accept the landowners' abuses and are mobilising against all forms of oppression and fighting for the regularisation of the lands they now occupy. I propose that the quilombolas of Custaneira and Mutamba are linked to the memory, history and culture of their ancestors. These are the tools that form the basis for claiming their rights as legitimate owners and workers of the land they have always inhabited. For this reason, the quilombolas of the semiarid region of Piauí affirm that their identity is forged in struggle, and for this reason they continue to seek and achieve recognition and justice.