During Salvador’s fall-winter season, the rain comes for a few minutes to an hour, and then it goes. Then it comes back again. It’s like this for a whole week—on and off. Then the next week, it’s sunny. This was one early morning when the sun opened up an hour before the clouds and wetness returned.
This past Wednesday I visited Quilombo Kaonge, a quilombola community located in the rural area of Cachoeira.
Quilombos, or maroons, are communities that were formed during Colonial Brazil by Africans and their descendents who fled slavery. These places allowed them to live freely and preserve their religious and cultural practices. The State of Bahia has the largest self-declared quilombola population in the country.
Quilombo Kaonge is a community of 52 families, many of which are very large. The women of Rota da Liberdade were incredibly welcoming when we arrived, and we started our visit with a traditional Bahian meal consisting of moqueca de camarão, vatapá, pirão, and rice. We had mango juice to wash everything down.
I learned how to make natural cough syrup, dendé oil, and flour.
Watching the women work, hearing their stories, and learning their traditions reminded me that everything worth creating takes time and intention.
For example, I learned that the dendê oil won’t come from the palm nut if you bring the wrong energy, meaning if you come back from the streets heavy, angry, or carrying negative energy, you have to stay far away to not mess up the process. So I’m definitely taking that with me… slow down, breathe, and let my creativity flow when it’s ready.
Before we left, the women invited us into a roda de samba. It was really fun to just let loose and enjoy the energy of the drums. Turns out I don’t need any samba lessons after all.