A must-see itinerary through the Feast of the Good Death, one of the most traditional manifestations of black culture in Cachoeira, in the Baiano Reconcavo

Whoever wishes to experience an authentic cultural manifestation of Bahia must closely witness the Good Death Festival, one of the most traditional celebrations of the memory and black culture of the Baiano Recôncavo! Birthplace of Samba de Roda, Cachoeira is the stage of the procession that has been taking place for over 230 years through the historic streets of the colonial city, on the banks of the Paraguassu River, one of the most important in Bahia.

The Festival is organized by the Sisterhood of the Good Death, an association formed by black women, over 40 years old. The sisterhood was a space of affirmation and resistance for women and black culture in society.

During the celebrations, over 60,000 people attend the festivities, including tourists from all over the country, Europe, and especially the United States of America. This year, the activities will take place from August 12 to 17.

The Baiano Recôncavo is the region of Bahia where African traditions have been most preserved, and Cachoeira is a kind of Mecca where blacks flock in search of their origins.

According to the Sisterhood's page, the history of the religious confraternity of Good Death is intertwined with the massive arrival of enslaved people from the coast of Africa to the Recôncavo, where there were many sugar cane, tobacco, and other plantations. For over three centuries, Cachoeira was the second most economically important city in Bahia.

In Colonial Brazil, although there were other brotherhoods for different social classes and racial profiles, almost none were exclusive to women. For a brotherhood to function legally, historian João José Reis says it needed to find a church that would welcome it and have its statutes approved by an ecclesiastical authority.

Comprised of women descendants of slaves, the Sisterhood of the Good Death was founded around 1820 in a patriarchal society marked by strong racial contrast. To join the sisterhood, it is still necessary to be over 40 years old (novices). Currently, the oldest sister, Dona Filhinha, is 107 years old.

Most of the records about the Sisterhood were lost in a fire in one of the churches where it was based in 1984. It is estimated that at its peak, the organization had over 200 members. Despite its historical value, it was only in 2010 that the Sisterhood was recognized as Intangible Heritage of Bahia.

The confraternity always obliged its members to collaborate. Entry fees, annual dues, collected alms, and other forms of income were always used for various purposes: buying freedom, holding festivities, and religious obligations.

The Sisterhood became an international reference for cultural richness and the role of social and political representation of its members. The brotherhoods were strategic spaces for former slaves, where they could profess the dominant religion without giving up their ancestral beliefs.

Although linked to different traditional churches of the local colonial elite, women introduced various African matrix rituals and symbols into the liturgical acts, with banquets offered to all participants and lots of samba de roda - elements that still characterize the celebrations today!

At the estimated time of its foundation - about 70 years before the abolition of slavery - Cachoeira was populated by descendants of the Jejes and Ketus peoples, from different African regions, many of whom had already been freed through the brotherhoods' articulation and due to the city's economic success - which abandoned sugar cultivation to become a producer of high-quality tobacco and an exporting port of regional production.

In a politically tense period, with conflicts over independence and the abolition of slavery, there were different religious and civil initiatives for the emancipation of blacks. Cosmopolitan, the descendants of Africans maintained strong ties with black slaves from many cities, especially Salvador, and participated in uprisings for political independence and abolition of slavery in the country - such as the Malês Revolt (1835).

To fully appreciate the richness of this typically Afro-Brazilian cultural manifestation, there is nothing better than an immersive and unique experience! Our partner AfroTours specializes in ethnic tourism in Bahia and will take us to experience the festival from the inside!