O Engenho de Cana-de-açúcar Padre Cicero em Barbalha-CE: espaço educativo para apreensão das afrodescendências e africanidades

Abstract

This research seeks to reinterpret the sociological history of sugarcane mill workers in Cariri, Ceará. Studies by Cunha Junior (2010), Nunes (2011), Santos (2020), and Silva (2023) indicate that the Cariri region is made up of Afro-descendants and African identities that connect with the African continent. To broaden the knowledge base on African history in Cariri, our general objective is to analyze the sugarcane mills of Barbalha, Ceará. The specific objectives are to examine the socio-historical and spatial trajectories of the Black population in Barbalha, Ceará; to study African-based technical and technological knowledge, focusing on the sugarcane mills in the municipality of Barbalha; and to propose expanded knowledge on African identities for Geography teaching, focusing on transforming the mills into educational spaces. The Padre Cícero sugar mill is located in Venha-Ver, 3.5 km from the city center of Barbalha, Ceará. We chose to research this mill because of its easy access and because it safeguards African technical and technological wealth. Our methodology was the research on Afro-descendants articulated by intellectual Cunha Junior (2001), which places us within the field of research so we can interpret the geographic objects produced by Black populations. The methodological procedure consisted of a literature review, fieldwork, consultation of iconographic material, and oral history. As a result of this research, we realized a gap in the theme of ethno-racial relations, especially in the history of the Cariri sugar mills, specifically in Barbalha. To overcome this, our proposal was to transform the mills into spaces for teaching African cultures. Something that is possible due to the African and Afro-descendant markers existing in these places, namely the sugar mills and the relationship that education must have with African history, as guided by Law 10.639/03.