2. Racial Inequality and Religious Belief in Brazil: The Mysterious Case of Slave Anastacia Monday, April 2, 2001

3. Brazil

4. The devotion to the Slave Anastacia One of the most revered popular saints in Brazil: at least 12 million devotees; most of devotees are women; of all colors Her main appeal: delivery of miraculous cures, solace for women in crisis Also important: her mythical story –Non-devotees say she never existed; devotees say she did –Main outlines of her story

5. Version 1 of Anastacia’s story Master really falls in love with Anastacia Anastacia accepts/falls in love with master Master’s takes revenge on Anastacia Caring relations between masters and slaves are thinkable; the source of evil/torture is not slavery as much as the jealousy of master’s wife

6. Version 2 of Anastacia’s story Master lusts after Anastacia Anastacia refuses and resists his overtures He tries to rape her; she fights back Master punishes her by imposing the face mask She is defending her honor The most important feature of the story for these informants: her refusal to give in

7. Slavery in Brazil From 1512-1870: 3 million Africans survive Middle Passage to Brazil Worked in sugar, gold and diamond mines; later in tobacco Life expectancy: 7 years in the field (malnutrition, disease, overwork, torture)

8. Resistance to slavery Escape, setting up maroon communities Palmares and Zumbi (1600-1690) The Muslim uprising (1835) The massive rebellions, 1850-1888

9. “Official” Brazilian history The story told in school-books: Princess Isabel freed the slaves in 1888 out of goodness of her heart Slaves mainly accepted slavery because Brazilian culture is so familial and cordial (Gilberto Freyre)

10. The key contrast with the US The presence of a third color/race category: “moreno”, “pardo”, “mulato”. In 1888, 40% of Brazilians belonged to this category These people had better life chances than those who were identified as “preto” or “negro”

11. Causes for the emergence of a large official “mulatto” class Many more unattached men in Brazil than in North America (Brazilian planters wanted heirs) North American women had more authority in households than Portuguese women (Portuguese women less able to block competition with their own children) Scarcity of Europeans to take on socially respectable jobs in Brazil (foremen, militia captains, small merchants)

12. The impact today on Brazilian race relations Working-class (“w-c”) “mulato” twice as likely as w-c “preto” to earn university degree Preto children 3 times more likely than mulato children to drop out of school by 4th grade W-c pretos earn 25-30% less than w-c mulattos

13. Tensions between pretas and “morenas” Beauty –The morenas have advantage in love “market” Family –Lighter siblings often receive different treatment Work –negras hired more as domestic servants; morenas hired more as cashiers, sales assistants, etc.

14. The “official story”: the myth of racial democracy Also Gilberto Freyre “There is no racism in Brazil” Any inequality of treatment is due, not to color, but to class difference

15. Returning to the versions of Anastacia’s story Version 1: Told by women who identified themselves as “morenas” –thought of themselves as descendant of slave- master union –wanted to think of their slave-master ancestor in positive terms –accept the “official” history of Freyre

16. Version 2 Told by women calling themselves “pretas” or “negras” Anastacia prefers death to rape version refutes the myth of cordial slavery and serves as basis to resist the ongoing myth of racial democracy