September 14, 1872
A narrow escape
Asan (escaped slave) has just arrived at the Quilombo and addresses the leader, Karega
Asan:
My dear friends, I am so grateful to see your hospitable faces after days of tedious travel. Thank you for welcoming me into the Quilombo. After escaping from my hacienca, I was worried I would get lost or die in the woods from starvation or exhaustion and I have been wandering for the past 3 weeks in the deep, dark woods praying for somewhere to stay. I was so focused on escaping, I hadn’t thought about where I would go. I have hardly been able to sleep for fear that they-my master and his overseers- would find me; I already had a narrow escape as I was leaving the plantation.
The two fiercest overseers, Diego and Paulo pursed me to the edge of the forest. Diego beat me when I was a boy for eating sugar cane while working and I know the strength of his arm. I have also seen him punish a fellow worker, Tale, who attempted to escape but was caught; Diego whipped him severely and then cut of his ear. As I ran, I imagined his scar and ran even faster knowing the brutal consequences of getting caught. Paulo is younger and has only been at the plantation for a year, but he followed with a gun. While I knew that shooting me was their last resort-killing me would only damage what they see as property-I knew Paulo wouldn’t be afraid of shooting my leg or shooting out of desperation.
I have been thinking about escape for over a year now. My wife, Samir, was sold in May at the end of the sugar-cane harvest and without her, I had no reason to stay on the plantation. We had only been married for 3years, but she failed to bear any children and has been labeled as infertile. I cry thinking how the worth of my beautiful Samir is limited to a piece of property useless because she can’t bear children. Since 1850, no more natives from the land of my parents have been subjected to this horrific lifestyle and so women are viewed as breed-horses. Now that the free-womb law has been enacted for this past year, I cry thinking how if we had a child, he would be free. My dream has always been to raise a family with my love, Samir, but these laws and binds of slavery prevent me from living fully. She was sold for a low cost simply because of her infertility; they do not value her and not a day passes that my heart doesn’t ache for her. The sadness of our separation has driven me here, and while the others I work with thought I was crazy for running, I am so relived to be here. My only hope is that Samir would find this Quilombo and we can live a simple life together here. I do not know if she would have the courage or means to run, but I pray daily that we could be reunited.
I had planned my escape strategically, taking from Tale as to what not to do. His escape ended in disaster because the dogs smelled him and he laid down to rest before crossing any water. They tracked his scent and although he was two days away, Diego’s search party full of barking hounds, guns and whips found Tale sleeping in the bushes. For this reason, I hardly sleep out of nervousness. I left in broad daylight. I hardly own anything, and I knew I could travel lightly with simply the rags on my back. I waited until a day when the dogs were not around; Master had taken them to his cousins. I knew that afternoon was my only chance to run, so all afternoon; I nervously waited for a time when Paulo was not paying attention. I saw him talking to another slave, so I nonchalantly made my way out of the sugar field. I walked without drawing attention to myself, but just as I neared the edge of the forest, Paulo saw me and yelled at Diego. Without the dogs, they grabbed the gun and whip to follow me, Luckily I outran them and the adrenaline pushed me to run even faster til I reached the dense, mysterious forest. Though I was afraid to enter the forest due to stories of animals and evil spirits, it was my only chance for freedom. They stopped as I ran into the dark of the woods, knowing that pursuing me without the hounds would be futile. I continued running til I came to a stream where I could erase my scent. Since then, I have been scavenging food and hardly resting between running, and worrying for my life.
So, as I am grateful to be here, tell me, where am I and what is this place of refuge?
Karega:
Welcome to the Quilombo. I am Karega, the Nganga a Nzumbi and my role in this community is to act as a priest and intercede on behalf of the spirits of the dead. I have been elected and have worked in this position for the last 4 years and have found joy in my fellow malungos. We are happy to have you here, Asan. You are more than welcome to join us and become part of our community.
Thank you for sharing your story with us. You will find many other harrowing stories among your fellow malungos. I myself escaped with 3 others 7 years ago from a hacienda and we established this small Quilombo here in the jungle. Over 30 of us currently live here and we have been able to sustain ourselves through a simple lifestyle of gardening, hunting and gathering. Though we are as poor as we were in slavery, at least we are free. We live in a little fear of out master’s slave-hunters, but we have worked hard to conceal ourselves. As we have grown, we have worked to rumors of evil spirits in the forest. The Portuguese masters know something lurks in this forest and we have done our best to relay stories of ghosts and supernatural spirits so as to frighten the Portuguese. It is amazing how fearful they are of magic and spirits. Of course, as the Nganga a Nzumbi I find comfort in the spiritual world and have grown in my spirituality which combines the roots of the African people with the native religions here in Brazil.
So, my malungo, welcome to the Quilombo. I will know give you a tour of our humble community and show you our daily life. Asan, come with me.

Image used:"NYPL Digital Gallery Detail ID 1222682 Web February 28"

Amy C. Kirkpatrick and Sara M. Castillo