While handling spools, threads and needles, Gabriela Sarmento’s mind wandered in search of a theme for the final work of the Fine Arts course at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ). And then came the idea of joining three central elements in the formation of their own identity: sewing, carnival and black culture. The TCC delivered in 2021 dealt with the clothes worn by Bahians in the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro, one of the most traditional wings of Sapucaí. In addition to the theoretical part, she presented a cloth doll with a Bahian costume inspired by the most remote times of revelry. The project went beyond the diploma: today she makes and sells the dolls on the internet. They are 30 cm high, can be customized in the colors of all the samba schools and cost R$80. Gabriela Sarmento and her dolls made from research on black traditions and Bahian clothing at the samba schools Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil “ Within the Faculty of Arts, I felt this need to talk about Brazilian art and clothing from a non-European perspective. I didn’t see anything about it in the subjects I was taking. So, I decided on the topic to delve a little deeper into this universe and criticize this absence from the course”, she recalls. “When I bought my first sewing machine and started to produce a little more, I had the idea of making a rag doll by hand. I didn’t want it to be a plastic doll, like a Barbie, because I didn’t think she would have the aesthetic that I would like”. The aesthetic chosen by Gabriela Sarmento, who is now 27 years old and lives in Realengo, on the west side of the city, brings references to an ancestral and diasporic culture. The black cloth dolls with traditional clothes refer to African roots, to the customs of women who were enslaved and brought to Portuguese America and, finally, to the costumes of the “aunts from Bahia”. The latter were recently freed and used to work as cooks and sellers of delicacies in the country’s streets at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. In Rio de Janeiro, the homes of many of them became meeting places, where religious services took place. Afro-Brazilian religions, capoeira circles and music rehearsals. Samba was born in environments like these. Therefore, it is common to give them the title of “samba matriarchs”. This recognition came from specific wings in carnival blocks and ranchos, and in the associations that began to parade at the turn of the 1920s to the 1930s. Since then, the costumes have gone through a series of modifications. The modernization process began in the 1960s. From the traditional base, new elements were inserted according to the creativity of the carnival designer. Today, costumes can weigh up to 15 kg. Quite different than it was in the past. To arrive at a more faithful result of what traditional clothing was like, Gabriela researched bibliographical references and interviewed more experienced Bahian women. One of them was Tia Nilda, who debuted in the role in 1979 at Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel. She recalled that the traditional costume only included a turban, bracelets, a light gown and, underneath, a petticoat with a conduit. For Gabriela, dolls are more than decorative objects. They function as material support for a culture historically constructed by black women that must be preserved. She defends that the carnavalescos give greater prominence to the baianas who parade in Sapucaí when it comes to planning the costumes. It would be the best way not to completely mischaracterize a tradition of so many years, laden with sociopolitical meanings. “The dolls tell part of this Bahian story, because they bring a little bit of what the costumes were like way back when the samba schools started. So they are a symbol of that time and the role of black women. And they can also serve as educational material. Whether for children or adults, they are a way of studying and getting to know more about that past”. Quilombo do Samba Gabriela’s work is also part of the Quilombo do Samba group, of which she is a member, and which helps to promote the dolls. It was formed in 2019 with professionals from different areas (arts, pedagogy, biology and advertising) with the purpose of studying and publicizing the contribution of the black population to samba. The group balances between the academic world and the activities of the carnival universe. Guilherme Niegro, 32, is one of the members. Pedagogue and specialist in ethnic-racial relations, he researches the influence of the Bantu, an ethnolinguistic group that lives in sub-Saharan Africa, on the Brazilian carnival. In addition to thinking about scientific articles and extension courses, Quilombo do Samba wants to produce knowledge about the current black role in the parades. “We started to organize internet conversations with people from the world of samba and they had a great impact. We see the potential of this. We interviewed people like flag bearers, interpreters, president of Liga-RJ. There were 52 interviews. Afterwards, we went to the courts, to the barracks of the Série Especial and Série Ouro. Always focusing on highlighting the role of black people who build carnival”.
Agência Brasil
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