Kalungas
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The Kalungas are Afro-Brazilians that descend from people who freed themselves from slavery, and lived in remote settlements in Goiás state, Brazil. The Kalungas are one group of Quilombola, or people of African origin who live in hinterland settlements founded during the period of escaped slaves. Most of the approximately 5,000 Kalungas, who are of mixed African and indigenous ancestry, live in very poor conditions.[1][2][3]
In the regions of present-day northern Angola and southern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Bakongo and Kimbundu peoples traditionally believed in a Supreme god called Nzambi, who summoned a spark of fire, called Kalûnga, which created the universe, planets and all life within. Kalûnga became seen as "the nature of change," with Nzambi also becoming Kalûnga, the god of change.[4] An aspect of their spirituality that was transported to the Americas via Atlantic slavery was the Kalûnga line, a watery boundary between the physical world of the living and the spiritual world of the ancestors.[5] Because a majority of enslaved Afro-Brazilians were taken from the Kingdom of Kongo and the Kingdom of Ndongo, this is likely the origin of Kalungas.[6]
Demographics and settlement
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All of the area occupied by the Kalungas was officially recognized by the state government in 1991 as a Historical Site and the Kalunga are preserved as Patrimônio Cultural Kalunga.[1] The Kalungas settled in the mountains on both sides of the Paraná River, on slopes and in valleys, called Vãos. Today they occupy the territory of Cavalcante, Monte Alegre e Teresina de Goiás. The four main settlements are in the region of Contenda, the Vão do Calunga, the Vão de Almas, the Vão do Moleque and the Ribeirão dos Bois. Other Kalungas remain in unrecognized communities or in isolation.[2] Legal land title for the territory was first granted by INCRA in 2015 with further grants of land title in 2018 and 2022, although the total land title comprises only 10% of Kalunga-settled territory.
