QUILOMBOS

Quilombo is not a term that necessarily means an escaped slave. It is a Kimbundu word, from a language spoken in Angola. It means village or human settlement. In Brazil, the expression came to designate settlements of the black people. Such settlements could have been established with slave holders´ consent, such as Itapua, Carimbamba (now the Aviation club) and Caxunde (now Jardim de Ala) or communities established by escaped slaves, such as Piraja, Cabula and other areas on the outskirts of Salvador.

PELOURINHO

In the European countries such as Portugal, France, England, Poland and Spain, the pillory was used as a form of public punishment and humiliation of unscrupulous tradesmen, such as those who sold "a pig in a poke" short- changed their customers or dealt in spoiled or shoddy goods. When the authorities ordered their punishment, these merchants were pilloried on posts set up for that purpose in public markets. Therefore, the role of the pillory was to ensure fair dealings in the market place.

The city of Salvador’s market also had its pillory, which was moved from what is now Castro Alves Plaza to Municipal Plaza and then largo das Postas do Carmo do Carmo, and was used according to Portuguese tradition: for public vilification of dishonest tradesmen.

This form of public punishment should not be confused with the punishments slaveholders inflicted on their slaves, which always took place on the masters´ property. Here is an example that illustrates this very well: numerous slaves were flogged for joining the Males in 1835, but there is no evidence that any of them was punished on the city’s pillory. There were whippings in Campo da Polvora, Agua de Meninos, and Piedade, but no slaves were flogged on the pillory.

Therefore, it is historically inaccurate to state that the blood of the slaves was shed on the pillory set up in the market in the former Largo das Portas do carom – now Largo do Pelourinho – and flowed downhill during punishment inflicted by slaveholders. A symbol of Portuguese government, the pillory had nothing to do with the public flogging of slaves.

MERCADO MODELO

It is said that the basement of the Mercado Modelo now a handicraft market was built to shelter runaway slaves. The truth is that the slaves smuggled here were always put ashore on the city’s beaches, including the beach now known as “ Chega Nego” ( Blackman’s Landing) because so many blacks landed there.
Mercado Modelo was not only constructed after the slave trade was abolished, but it was never used as a shelter for escaped slaves.

TUNNELS

There are myths in Bahia’s historiography that persist to this day. Among them is the story that underground tunnels once connected the city’s many convents and monasteries. The truth is that there were large culverts for rainwater drainage and conduits that carried water to public fountains.

LUIZA MAHIM

There were strong women linked to slave leadership in Bahia. In fact, the matriarchy was a constant in the cultures of the people from the Bight of Benin. Black women appear here and there in references to the life of the city of Salvador in the nineteenth century. None, however, was called Luiza Mahim. This name could have become a symbol without there being any documentary evidence that it belonged to a real human being. The number of Luis Gamma’s mother is not found in any written documents. The name Luiza Mahim has an emblematic significance for African women, but it is not some the name of any individual.

CHURCHES

Why is it that some Bahian churches only have one tower? The answer is simple: lack of money, whether to finish the building or maintain the church, was decisive factor for building just one tower. That was the only reason. Here are some examples: only one tower was built on the church of Santo Antonio Alem do Carmo, because there was not enough money to build another. The towers of the church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim were only added after the construction of the nave.

To this day, 15 Mysteries church only has a main nave. Its towers were never built due to a lack of funds. Aside from their towers,there are other legends regarding the churches of Bahia.

They say that a Brazilian Indian died in the church of Santissima Trindade, Agua de Meninos, and that is why it was closed and now in ruins. The impoverishment of the brotherhood that ran the church was the real reason for its abandonment and the collapse of one of its towers in the late 1950s or 60s.

It is also said that slaves were not allowed to look at the altar of the church of Sao Francisco, and that is why people sitting in the side pews cannot see the main altar. The truth is that the construction of the pillar that holds up the church choir prevents anyone sitting in the side pews from seeing that altar. By chance, the same is true of the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceicao da Praia, for slaveowners, slaves and tourists.

Then there is a myth that masses were no longer held at Unhao Manor chapel because a priest had died there. The fact is that Unhao was rented by a Swiss merchant who, not being Catholic, donated all the sacred objects to the church of Conceicao da Praia, and used the chapel for business purposes.

Fifteen Mysteries Church got its name because it Fifteen Mysteries is a rosary. A chaplet is a third of a rosary, so calling it the church of Nossa Senhora do Rosario dos 15 Misterios means the same thing, and has nothing to do with Islam.

Islam was practiced in Bahia, and there is a curious case of a Muslim presence in Bahian Catholic church that has nothing to do with the Fifteen Mysteries. At the beginning of the century, when Lapinha Church was undergoing a complete restoration, the Male and Muslim master mason seized the opportunity to put some verses from the Koran on the wall in Arabic. That is all. There was no worship.

It is said that Aflitos Square got its name due to the “affliction”  by slaves when they were punished, However, the Portuguese cult of the Aflitos (Afflicted) is ancient and has nothing to do with the afflictions of slavery. The square is called Aflitos because Our Lord of the Afflicted is worshipped there.

Extracted from Marisa Vianna’s  Salvador CIDADE DA BAHIA.