LU-MRRL Lecture Series: Afro-Brazilian Tongue Twisters

What do certain animals mean to communities and why? Dr. Rachael Paseriowska, assistant professor of history, will draw on jongos or riddles from eastern Brazil that reflect direct links to Africa from the trans-Atlantic slave trade and African diasporas. When studying these short riddles, we see examples of how former enslaved people in Brazil highlighted themes such as cultural retentions, resistance, and belief systems. Animals feature frequently in these sources and point to connections with indigenous Brazilian beliefs with respect to those from the Amazon regions.