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| Africans in Brazil | |
|---|---|
| Group name | Africans in Brazil |
| Regions | Northeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region, Brazil, North Region, Brazil, South Region, Brazil, Central-West Region, Brazil |
| Population | See demographics |
| Languages | Portuguese language, Afro-Brazilian dialects |
| Religions | Candomblé, Umbanda, Roman Catholicism in Brazil, Protestantism in Brazil |
Africans in Brazil Africans in Brazil trace origins to diverse West Africa, Central Africa, and Southeast Africa populations who arrived via the transatlantic Atlantic slave trade and subsequent migrations, shaping the demographic, cultural, religious, and political landscape of Brazil. Their descendants include millions who identify with Afro-Brazilian heritage, reflected in regional concentrations such as Bahia, Pernambuco (state), Rio de Janeiro (state), and São Paulo (state), and in influential movements linked to figures like Zumbi dos Palmares, Luís Gama, Maria Firmina dos Reis, and Milton Santos.
Enslavement began with Portuguese voyages under Treaty of Tordesillas-era expansion, involving ports such as Lisbon, Luís de Camões-era fleets, and slaving hubs like Luanda and Benguela. The logistics of the Atlantic slave trade connected African polities including the Kingdom of Kongo, Oyo Empire, Benin Empire, Ashanti Empire, and Central African Republic-region groups to colonial plantations in Bahia, Pernambuco (state), and Rio de Janeiro (city). Resistance included maroon communities such as Quilombo dos Palmares led by Zumbi dos Palmares and legal challenges by abolitionists like Joaquim Nabuco, Rui Barbosa, and José do Patrocínio culminating in the Lei Áurea enacted by Princess Isabel. Post-abolition migrations connected Brazil with Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and later 20th-century arrivals from Angola and Mozambique, while 19th-century intellectuals like José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva and activists such as Luís Gama influenced integration debates.
Census categories instituted by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) classify self-reported identities such as Preto (racial classification), Pardo (Brazilian term), and other labels used in the 2010 Brazilian census and 2022 Brazilian census. Major urban centers include Salvador, Bahia, Recife, Fortaleza, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. Migration scholars such as Sérgio Buarque de Holanda, Gilberto Freyre, and Sérgio Adorno have documented regional population patterns, while contemporary demographers like Miguel Nicolelis and Henrique Meirelles (policy context) appear in public debates. Health and education disparities analyzed by Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and social surveys by Fundação Getulio Vargas show concentrations of Afro-descendant populations in informal settlements like favelas of Complexo do Alemão and Rocinha.
African-derived traditions pervade Brazilian arts: musical genres such as samba, axé, maracatu, batuque, and capoeira music link to African rhythms from Yoruba people, Fon people, and Bantu peoples. Literary contributions from Jorge Amado, Carolina Maria de Jesus, Machado de Assis, and Abdias do Nascimento reflect Afro-Brazilian themes; visual arts by Vicente do Rego Monteiro-era influences mingle with contemporary creators like Beatriz Nascimento. Carnival manifestations in Salvador, Bahia and Rio de Janeiro showcase blocos, samba schools such as Mangueira, Portela (school), and Vai-Vai, and percussion ensembles drawing lineage from Orixás-linked practices. Culinary heritage includes dishes like acarajé, vatapá, and feijoada tracing to African ingredients and techniques brought via Atlantic routes.
Syncretic systems such as Candomblé and Umbanda integrate African cosmologies from Yoruba religion, Vodun, and Bantu traditions with Roman Catholicism in Brazil and indigenous practices. Sacred sites include Ilê Aiyê, Ilê Axé Iyá Nassô Oká, and terreiros associated with leaders like Mãe Menininha do Gantois and Mãe Stella de Oxóssi. Rituals reference deities such as Olorun, Ogun, Oxum, and Iemanjá and intersect with national religious politics involving institutions like the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) and debates with Evangelicalism in Brazil leaders. Legal recognition of Afro-Brazilian religions has been contested in cases brought before the Supremo Tribunal Federal.
African languages contributed substrate features to Portuguese language spoken in Brazil; lexicon and phonology display borrowings from Yoruba language, Kimbundu, Ewe language, Fon language, and other African tongues. Afro-Brazilian liturgical lexicons retain words in Nago language and Ioruba-related registers within terreiros. Creole and pidgin varieties such as Papiamento-adjacent forms and contact phenomena in regions like Sergipe and Pernambuco (state) have been documented by linguists including Aryon Rodrigues and Edison Carneiro. Researchers at institutions like Museu Afro Brasil and Universidade de São Paulo study code-switching, lexical retention, and prosody tied to African diasporic identity.
Afro-descendant populations face disparities measured in income, education attainment, health outcomes, and incarceration rates by agencies such as IBGE and Ministry of Health (Brazil). Affirmative action policies like racial quotas in Brazil for public universities (linked to cases at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Universidade de São Paulo) and legislation debated in the National Congress of Brazil aim to address inequalities noted in reports by UNESCO and World Bank. Grassroots organizations such as Movimento Negro Unificado (MNU), Coalizão Negra por Direitos, and activists like Sueli Carneiro and Marielle Franco have highlighted police violence in operations associated with Pacification (Rio de Janeiro) and incarceration trends critiqued by Anistia Internacional.
Political mobilization includes historical leaders like Zumbi dos Palmares and abolitionists such as Luís Gama, alongside contemporary politicians including Marielle Franco, Benedita da Silva, and Romário (footballer-politician) who have engaged with issues in the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Federal Senate (Brazil), and municipal councils. Organizations like Movimento Negro Unificado, ONGs such as SOS Corpo and cultural institutions like Instituto Cultural Palmares coordinate campaigns around affirmative action, cultural heritage protection under IPHAN, and anti-discrimination measures enforced through the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship. International linkages involve African Union-diaspora dialogues and United Nations forums such as the UN World Conference against Racism.
Category:Ethnic groups in Brazil Category:Afro-Brazilian people