Mulheres, negras e quilombolas: corpos-territórios defendidos a partir da epistemologia política e ambiental

Abstract

Research conducted in the Quilombos of Lajeado, Mumbuca, and Dona Juscelina, located in the state of Tocantins, analyzes how the life trajectories of Black Quilombola women affect the political and environmental agenda of their communities in defense of their bodies and territories. Through ethnographic research methodology complemented by oral history, using data collection instruments based on semi-structured interviews and observation, the communities demonstrated that the existence of Black Quilombola women transcends mere geographical occupation; they constitute the structural basis for the maintenance and protection of their territories. The study also verifies that the body territory, in these contexts, materializes in the mutual dependence between the land and life. It is the expression of the integrity of the land fused with the dignity of these women, whose resistance and memories remain a living presence. Human presence in these communities constitutes, in its essence, an exercise of freedom and politics. The trajectories of Vó Biló, Dona Miúda, and Dona Juscelina (in memoriam) reveal leaders who transcended formal representation to establish themselves as popular educators. In their practice, they transformed geographical space into an affective dwelling, where narratives of healing and belonging wove the meaning of life. By sharing their knowledge, they taught the quilombo to 'read the world,' transforming daily life into critical awareness and awareness into insurgency in defense of their fundamental rights.