Reflections on the role of women in Marabaixo

Abstract

This article reflects on women's involvement in Marabaixo, an Afro-Amazonian cultural manifestation in the state of Amapá. This qualitative research is based on fieldwork involving primary data collection and a literature review. The Afro- Amapaense cultural manifestation of Marabaixo represents both a form of artistic, cultural, economic, political, and religious expression, as well as a space for resistance, identity, and collective Amazonian memory. The Marabaixo Cycle brings with it a moment of reflection, ancestry, communication, engagement, and the exchange of multicultural knowledge within the socio-reflexive context of the cultural manifestation, with the protagonists themselves carrying out the actions of their traditional knowledge passed down from generation to generation, keeping their memories alive. The research results indicate that women occupy essential roles in Marabaixo, being responsible for much of the symbolic, religious, and community structure of the manifestation. Women's involvement reveals itself not only as a continuation of tradition, but also as an active force of cultural and political resistance in the face of historical processes of invisibility and urban transformations that directly impact Black and peripheral territories.