THE HISTORY OF ZUMBI DOS PALMARES

THE HISTORY OF ZUMBI DOS PALMARES

Astrid Lorena Pardo Wilmer Gomez Tovar

In the jungle of Alagoas in the north of Brazil, a black baby is born free, his mother calls him Zumbi , but when he has 6 years old is forces to serve the missionaries .He is baptized as Francisco, he learns portuguese and latin also to work to the church.

One day the young Zumbi knows how people humiliate his brothers in the public square. He cries and despairs feels powerless and that moment He takes the courageous decision to ďŹ ght to change that unjust reality.

Suddenly he is taking advantage of darkness of the night, and escapes into the deep jungle, with this heroic act of rebellion begins the legend. In the middle of the night under the moonlight he watches his hands and sees magically draw the line of his heroic destiny.

Disoriented and exhausted by the journey, he sees the eyes of a jaguar and this animal shows nobility and he does not want to attack. Zumbi knows a new friend who points the way to arrive to the “Quilombo dos Palmares”.

Zumbi sees that the Quilombo is a fugitive autonomous and free community.

This village who have been liberated from the chains of slavery, where black and white indigenous live, Zumbi founds his true family and promises to defend to the any attack.

The Governor of Pernanbuco tired of so much conflict, offers to Ganga Zunga freedom to all slaves if they surrender to the Kingdom of portugal, but Zumbi suspects the offer and he rebels generating a division of the Quilombo dos Palmares .

Ganga Zumba and his followers are betrayed by the kingdom, leaving to Zumbi as the new leader of the Quilombo dos Palmares but this more debilitated.

Suddendly, on one the nights of war a large army of thousands of soldiers destroies the “ Quilombo dos palmares” .Zumbi resists heroically but his army is weakening and in one of attacks he escapes wounded by thick jungle.

The people say that a great black bird raised him from the agony and gently look him to where the orishas.

The history of Zumbi transcendes borders , for this reason is that november 20 is the day of black conscience in Brazil, as a tribute to the resistance against slavery . Now the Quilombo dos Palmares live in the Favelas accompanied by the singing of the orishas.