Vodun priestesses and queens at the crossroads of discursive memories: from the Inquisition to Carnival

Abstract

The historical struggles of black movements for places of enunciation (Zoppi-Fontana, 1999; Autor 2, Autor 1, Modesto, 2023), especially of black women for memory (Autor 1, 2015), displace meanings when they seek to (re)signify the past, (re)signifying the present and the future. Inspired by the statements of Simas and Rufino (2018) and Martins (2021), who put forward the idea that wisdom, memories and experiences are imbued in bodies, we ask: what is repeated in the body and voice in an archive made up of Inquisition proceedings against African women who held leadership positions in vodun cults in Minas Gerais in the 18th century (Rodrigues, Maia, 2023)? How is this memory updated in the texts about/in Viradouro's parade at the 2024 Rio Carnival about the history of female warriors from the Dahomey kingdom initiated by vodun priestesses? In our work, we discursively analyze the memories of/about African vodun priestesses in processes of the Inquisition and in contemporary cultural productions in a relationship with the body conceived, at the same time, as a signifying materiality, as a discursive formulation, as knowledge. Inserted in the carnival space, a typically Brazilian expression of struggle and celebration, our aim is to make a reading gesture that demonstrates a place of signification for the body in movement.