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Misnaming Social Conflict: ‘Identity’, Land and Family Histories in a Quilombola Community in the Brazilian Amazon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2014

VÉRONIQUE BOYER
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Abstract

This article addresses an internal conflict that arose in an Amazonian village when it adopted an officially recognised quilombola identity. It argues that this issue, which tends to be interpreted in terms of identity, is in fact primarily social. Indeed, the divergent positions adopted by different groups of relatives need to be examined in relation to the dynamics of socio-economic differentiation linked to family histories. The article shows that the conflict related back to power struggles between dominant groups of relatives and that the questions about the limits of the group reflected preoccupations concerning who held legitimate authority to make decisions about the future of the village. By analysing some of the assumptions of the current debate about multiculturalism and ethnicity in Amazonia, this article contributes to the wider discussion about these issues in Brazil and, more broadly, in Latin America.

Spanish abstract

Este artículo se refiere a un conflicto interno que se dio en una aldea amazónica cuando ésta adoptó una identidad quilombola oficialmente reconocida. Señala que tal situación, que tiende a ser interpretada en términos de identidad, fue de hecho primeramente social. Claramente, es necesario examinar las divergentes posiciones adoptadas por distintos grupos de parientes en relación a las dinámicas de diferenciación socioeconómica vinculadas a sus historias familiares particulares. El material muestra que el conflicto se conectó tiempo atrás a luchas de poder entre grupos dominantes de parientes y que las cuestiones acerca de los límites del grupo reflejaban preocupaciones relacionadas con quién tenía la autoridad legítima para tomar decisiones acerca del futuro de la aldea. Al analizar algunas de las asunciones del debate actual sobre el multiculturalismo y la etnicidad en la Amazonia, este artículo contribuye a la discusión más amplia sobre de estos temas en Brasil y Latinoamérica.

Portugese abstract

Este artigo trata de um conflito interno surgido quando uma comunidade amazônica adotou oficialmente a identidade quilombola. Argumenta-se que esta questão que tende a ser interpretada em termos de identidade seja, na verdade, primordialmente social. As posições divergentes adotadas por diferentes grupos ligados por parentesco devem ser examinadas em relação às dinâmicas de diferenciação socioeconômicas relacionadas às histórias familiares. O artigo demonstra que o conflito relacionava-se a batalhas por poder entre grupos dominantes de parentes e que questões acerca dos limites dos grupos refletiam preocupações relacionadas com quem detinha autoridade legítima para tomada de decisões sobre o futuro da comunidade. Através da análise de alguns pressupostos do debate atual sobre multiculturalismo e etnicidade na Amazônia, este artigo contribui com discussões mais amplas acerca destas questões no Brasil e, de maneira geral, na América Latina.

Keywords

quilombolasBrazilAmazoniaethnic policiesinternal conflictsocial differentiationquilombolasBrasilAmazoniapolíticas étnicasconflicto internodiferenciación socialquilombolasBrasilAmazôniapolíticas étnicasconflito internodiferenciação social
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Latin American Studies , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , August 2014 , pp. 527 - 555
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

1 Kuper, Adam, ‘The Return of the Native’, Current Anthropology, 44: 3 (2003), pp. 389–95CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Barnard, Alan, ‘Kalahari Revisionism, Vienna and the “Indigenous Peoples” Debate’, Social Anthropology, 14: 1 (2006), pp. 1–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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3 Barnard, ‘Kalahari Revisionism’, p. 7.

4 On this process, referred to as ‘re-semanticisation’, see de Almeida, Alfredo Wagner Berno, ‘Os quilombos e as novas etnias’, in O'Dwyer, Eliane Cantarino (ed.), Quilombos: identidade étnica e territorialidade (Rio de Janeiro: Editora FGV, 2002), pp. 43–81Google Scholar. For a critical perspective, see Arruti, José Maurício, ‘Quilombos’, in Pinho, Osmundo and Sansone, Livio (eds.), Raça: novas perspectivas antropólogicas (Salvador: EDUFBA, 2008), pp. 315–50Google Scholar; and Boyer, Véronique, ‘A construção do objeto quilombo: da categoria colonial ao conceito antropológico’, Antropolítica, 27 (2009), pp. 131–55Google Scholar.

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6 See for example Caroline Ayala and Cindia Brustolin, ‘“E eles têm documento do gado?”: violência simbólica e dominação numa comunidade quilombola de MS’, paper presented at the 26th Meeting of the Brazilian Anthropological Association, Porto Seguro, Brazil, 2007.

7 This term is from de Vidas, Anath Ariel and Hoffmann, Odile, ‘Beyond Reified Categories: Multidimensional Identifications among “Black” and “Indian” Groups in Colombia and Mexico’, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 35: 9 (2012), pp. 1596–614CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 Carlos Alexandre Barboza Plínio dos Santos, ‘Quilombo Tapuio (PI): terra de memória e identidade’, unpubl. Master's diss., University of Brasília, 2006, p. 202.

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10 Arruti, José Maurício, ‘A emergência dos “remanescentes”: notas para o diálogo entre indígenas e quilombolas’, Mana, 3: 2 (1997), pp. 7–38CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Mocambo: antropologia e história no processo de formação quilombola (Bauru: EDUSC/ANPOCS, 2006).

11 French, Jan Hoffman, Legalizing Identities: Becoming Black or Indian in Brazil's Northeast (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2009), p. 15Google Scholar.

12 de Fátima Chagas, Miriam, ‘A política do reconhecimento dos “remanescentes das comunidades dos quilombos”’, Horizontes Antropológicos, 7: 15 (2001), p. 225Google Scholar.

13 See for example Alba Lucy Giraldo Figueroa, ‘Relatório antropológico de reconhecimento de quilombo do Rosa, município de Macapá, Amapá’, Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária (INCRA), Coordenação Geral de Regularização de Territórios Quilombolas, DFQ, Superintendência Regional do INCRA do Amapá, 2007.

14 A Federal Territory from 1948 to 1988, Amapá is now one of Brazil's 27 states.

15 According to the FCP there are 3,524 such communities; see http://www.palmares.gov.br/?p=3041. All internet references were last checked in June 2014.

16 According to the FCP's current data, most of the quilombos recognised by the institution are situated in the states of Bahia, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco and the Amazonian state of Pará. Amapá, for its part, has 54 quilombola communities; however, the available information does not allow one to detail their distribution between rural and urban areas, or their characteristic features. For that, one has to consult the anthropological literature, which, apart from the book by Jan Hoffman French cited in note 11 above, presents a stereotypical picture of the situation. For a critical review of the literature, see Boyer, Véronique, ‘L'anthropologie des quilombos et la constitution de “nouveaux sujets politiques”: de l'ethnie à la race et de l'autodéfinition au phénotype’, Civilisations, 59: 2 (2011), pp. 157–78CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

17 Véran, Jean-François, ‘Les découvertes du quilombo: la construction hétérogène d'une question nationale’, Problèmes d'Amérique Latine, 32 (1999), pp. 53–72Google Scholar.

18 There are currently more than 1,167 being processed, but only 123 titles were issued between 1995 and 2012. INCRA, Quadro atual da política de regularização de territórios quilombolas no INCRA, 2012, available at www.incra.gov.br/index.php/estrutura-fundiaria/quilombolas/file/109-quadro-atual-da-politica-de-regularizacao-de-territorios-quilombolas-no-incra.

19 See French, Legalizing Identities, pp. 92–9. See also Véronique Boyer, ‘Os quilombolas no Brasil: pesquisa antropólogica ou perícia político-legal?’, Nuevo Mundo/Mundos Nuevos (2011), available at http://nuevomundo.revues.org/61721.

20 The PBQ has multiple aims. For further information, see www.portaldaigualdade.gov.br/acoes/pbq.

21 The Technical Report of Identification and Delimitation consists of an expert anthropological report, a land register extract (levantamento fundiário) and a cadastral extract listing the relevant quilombola families, prepared by the leaders of the community.

22 For further information, see Comissão Pró-Índio, Como se titula uma terra, available at www.cpisp.org.br/terras/html/comosetitula_caminho.aspx.

23 The DPU, which replaced court-appointed barristers in 1994, became a permanent institution in 2009.

24 CONAQ, which was founded in 1996 on the occasion of the first national quilombo congress, describes itself as ‘one of the most active participants in the black rural movement in Brazil’. It has representatives in 22 of Brazil 27 states, according to information available at http://quilombosconaq.blogspot.fr/.

25 Other actors, such as representatives of the Church, also play a role in this consciousness-raising. On their role in the Brazilian north-east, see French, Legalizing Identities.

26 This data concerns family histories, ‘traditions’, religious beliefs and practices as well as the topographical survey.

27 Seção judiciária do Estado do Amapá – 2a Vara, Auto circunstanciado de inspeção judicia, Poder Judiciário, Justiça Federal, Macapá, unpubl., March 2010, p. 3.

28 All names of living people are pseudonyms.

29 Caboclo is a mostly pejorative term used by town-dwellers to refer to inhabitants of rural areas. In Seu João's case, it should be understood as an affectionate reminder of his childhood spent in the village.

30 This version is contradicted by official documents: indeed, the petition for land regularisation was filed in 2004 by the Lagoa dos Índios Residents’ Association. It would seem that the two associations were not in disagreement at the time. Ronizia Gonçalves, ‘Breve relato da pesquisa de campo’, unpubl. report, MDA-INCRA/AC, Rio Branco, 2010.

31 The state of Amapá was governed from 2003 to 2010 by the Partido Democrático Trabalhista (Democratic Labour Party, PDT).

32 The distribution of such food parcels by institutions, individuals and companies to the poorest members of society is a widespread social practice.

33 The Bolsa Família is a social welfare programme implemented by the federal government in 2003.

34 This phrase implies the kind of social standing that comes from a certain socio-economic status which is conferred not solely by further education or professional qualification.

35 ‘Phratry’ is a Greek term used to describe a kinship division made up of two or more distinct clans. These may be considered a single unit, but keep their separate identities.

36 All citations are from interviews with local inhabitants.

37 See, for example, Gomes, Flávio dos Santos and Priore, Mary Del (eds.), Os Senhores dos Rios: Amazônia, margens e histórias (Rio de Janeiro: Campus and Elsevier, 2003)Google Scholar.

38 Velho, Otávio, Besta fera: recriação do mundo – ensaios críticos de antropologia (Rio de Janeiro: Relume-Dumará, 1995)Google Scholar.

39 This position echoes that of the committed anthropologists who denounce the ‘frozen’ vision of the state. See, for example, Leite, Ilka Boaventura, ‘Os quilombos no Brasil: questões conceituais e normativas’, Etnográfica, 4: 2 (2000), pp. 333–54Google Scholar.

40 Emphasis added.

41 The PP evolved from the Aliança Renovadora Nacional (National Renovating Alliance, ARENA), the party of the military government (1964–85).

42 Harris, Mark, Life on the Amazon: The Anthropology of a Brazilian Peasant Village (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000)Google Scholar.

43 Fabian, Johannes, Time and the Other: How Anthropology Makes Its Object (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002)Google Scholar.

44 For another example in the same state of Amapá, see Boyer, Véronique, ‘Passado português, presente negro e indizibilidade ameríndia: o caso de Mazagão Velho, Amapá’, Religião e Sociedade, 28: 2 (2008), pp. 11–29CrossRefGoogle Scholar.