Entre o passado e o presente: uma análise da ancestralidade e identidade feminina negra em Bará na Trilha do Vento, de Miriam Alves

Abstract

This research selected the work Bará na trilha do vento (2015) for analysis with the aim of highlighting the configurations of identity and ancestry of black women, which were silenced by the colonizer over the years, but not forgotten, since they are present in the textual fabric, since the writer identifies herself as belonging to this group and, above all, because literature is a cultural manifestation that represents a given society in a specific time and context. The work reveals the existence of a symbolic world, in which identities are strengthened through ancestral memory, since memories remain collective, even without having been experienced in the present. Ancestry promotes the connection with roots and the preservation of customs, languages and cultural practices transmitted from generation to generation. When we talk about ancestry, memory and identity, from the perspective of women, we are faced with the need for self-affirmation, in a process of construction and deconstruction of self-images. In this way, black women reaffirm themselves, exalt themselves and deconstruct the image formulated by other views of themselves. Furthermore, when discussing ancestry, it is necessary to talk about memory. In the course of analysis, we dialogue with the studies of Hall (2006), Barzotto (2019), Quijano (2005), Mignolo (2020) to understand the issues regarding the identity of the black Latin American/Brazilian women in a decolonial path; Gonzales (2020), Collins (2023), Nascimento (2022), Crenshaw (2022) and Souza (2021) to discuss the issue of black women in Brazilian society and how the issue of feminist criticism is progressing in this microcosm, and we will also rely on the studies of Pollak (1989) and Halbwachs (2004) to explore the issues of collective memory and belonging, in addition to other theoretical contributions. Thus, we intend to contribute to the studies and discussions on Afro-Brazilian literature and decolonial studies.