{"id":74169,"date":"2023-05-03T09:53:52","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T12:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=74169"},"modified":"2025-09-13T14:07:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-13T17:07:45","slug":"maria-congas-coronation-in-mage-act-of-defiance-against-vandalism-of-the-quilombola-leaders-statue-on-the-guanabara-bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=74169","title":{"rendered":"Long-Due Coronation of Maria Conga in Mag\u00e9: Organizers Respond to Vandalism of Bust of ‘Brazilian Harriet Tubman’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Participants<\/a>
Participants at \u201cMaria Conga\u2019s Coronation\u201d posing in front of the bust of Maria Conga at the end of an act of defiance against Nazi and racist vandalism of the monument. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/i><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Maria Conga<\/a> was a quilombola<\/a> <\/em>leader who led the fight against slavery in the city of Mag\u00e9<\/a> in Greater Rio de Janeiro’s\u00a0Baixada Fluminense<\/a> region in the early 19th century. She is an example, a heroine of resistance against slavery who must be remembered and whose story must be preserved and defended. For this reason a bust was inaugurated in her honor in November 2021<\/a> on the Piedade Pier\u2014a tourist spot in Mag\u00e9. However, just over a year later, on February 5, 2023, the monument was defaced with a Nazi swastika. The perpetrator is yet to be identified.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nazi and racist crime inflicted on the bust of Maria Conga led to an organized protest in front of her monument, defending the memory of the Congolese-Brazilian leader, where around 50 people gathered together in a symbolic \u201cMaria Conga Coronation.\u201d This ceremony fulfilled, around 200 years later, something for which Maria Conga was born and had been prepared for by her parents, but which, thanks to being kidnapped and trafficked to Brazil, never happened: being crowned. An African Princess<\/a>, the daughter of a Congolese King in the 18th century, Maria Conga was finally crowned and is no longer a princess: she is a queen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Besides the coronation, the rally was also aimed at demanding government ensure the restoration and protection of the monument, investigate those responsible for the crime, prevent future damage, and stop neglecting and disregarding the quilombola<\/em> communities of Mag\u00e9. The city has three quilombos<\/a> [traditional ancestral communities established by descendants of enslaved Africans] <\/span>formally recognized by the Palmares Foundation. In addition to the Maria Conga Quilombo<\/a> itself, there are the Feital<\/a> and Quilomb\u00e1<\/a> quilombos.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One of organizers shows a photo on their phone of the bust of Maria Conga vandalized with Nazi symbols. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ceremony was attended by the Maria Conga Quilombo, Feital Quilombo<\/a>, Rio de Janeiro Quilombola Communities Association (ACQUILERJ<\/a>), Warrior Saint George Spiritist Center, Guarani Collective<\/a>, Mag\u00e9 Climate Forum<\/a>, Unified Black Movement (MNU<\/a>), Right to Memory and Racial Justice Initiative (IDMRJ<\/a>), Mag\u00e9 Popular Struggle Committee, Rio de Janeiro State Front for Decarceration<\/a>, Racial Equality and Human Rights Commissions of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB – Mag\u00e9-Guapimirim Chapter)<\/a>, Network of Communities and Movements Against Violence<\/a>, as well as representatives of the Mag\u00e9 City Hall, the m\u00e3edata<\/em> (as they call the mandate) of Rio de Janeiro Councilor Thais Ferreira<\/a>, and Federal Deputy Henrique Vieira<\/a>. The protest was also attended by local residents and supporters of the historic and religious figure of Maria Conga.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Life Story of the Congolese-Mag\u00e9 Quilombola<\/em> Leader<\/h3>\n

Maria Conga\u2019s life was marked by the struggle that culminated in the liberation of enslaved Africans and Afro-Brazilians in Brazil. Through coordinated group escapes, facilitated by a tunnel she built connecting slave regions to the area where her quilombo was located, she helped the enslaved people of Mag\u00e9 conquer freedom. Her approach was similar to that associated with Harriet Tubman<\/a> in the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bust<\/a>
Bust of Maria Conga after the \u201ccoronation.\u201d Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Born the daughter of a Congolese king in 1792, Maria Conga was brought to the Brazilian state of Bahia around 1804. At 18, she was sold to a slaveowner from Mag\u00e9. After years of struggle, she was granted her freedom at age 35, at which point she founded the quilombo. The figure of Maria Conga is fundamental to the city of Mag\u00e9\u2019s history. One of the organizers of the ceremony, Marcos Cesar Junior<\/a>, teacher and resident of the Maria Conga Quilombo, spoke about the historical importance of the Congolese-Brazilian heroine:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe was the founder of the Maria Conga Quilombo, located in the first district in the area surrounding Morro Maria Conga. She is attributed with organizing the escapes of enslaved people that were illegally landed following the Feij\u00f3 Law<\/a> [the first law to prevent the importation of enslaved people] at Piedade Beach<\/a> [in Mag\u00e9], where the Auction Square used to be. The Feital Quilombo is also in the neighborhood of Piedade, another reference point in the fight against slavery. The elders tell us that Maria Conga was responsible for building a tunnel that connected Piedade to Morro do Bonfim, through which people escaped.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Giselle<\/a>
Giselle Florentino from the Right to Memory and Racial Justice Initiative (IDMRJ) speaking to those present at Maria Conga\u2019s “coronation” ceremony. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Giselle Florentino<\/a> from the Right to Memory and Racial Justice Initiative (IDMRJ) spoke at the event about the need to form a new perspective in the debate so that it is not just about the forming of quilombos, but about how they were critical to the forming the Baixada Fluminense region itself:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s been argued that the Baixada Fluminense emerged from the region’s agricultural development and we want to retell another story from the point of view of Black people, indigenous people, and immigrants. [The story] that the Baixada Fluminense was founded from a complex of quilombos run by Black women<\/a> called ‘Hidra de Igua\u00e7u<\/a>.’ The Maria Conga Quilombo resisted attempts by the Portuguese Royal Guard for 100 years and was considered one of the most resistant and militant in the days of the Crown. It is from this social configuration that the Baixada Fluminense was formed.”\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Preparing<\/a>
Preparing flowers for Maria Conga\u2019s Coronation. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maria Conga not only housed enslaved people who managed to escape violence, she also looked after the sick, delivered babies, and resolved problems within the community. She fought for those who became her children from when they arrived at the quilombo until the end of her life. She was never captured and died from natural causes at age 90<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Participants<\/a>
Participants at the ceremony \u201cMaria Conga\u2019s Coronation\u201d in an act of defiance against the Nazi and racist vandalism of the bust. Photo: B\u00e1rbara Dias<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She then began her journey as an ancestor, becoming known as Grandma<\/em> Maria Conga<\/a>, a spiritual entity worshipped in the Afro-Brazilian religion of Umbanda<\/a>. For Umbanda followers, Maria Conga has a spiritual and ancestral significance which goes beyond her historical importance as a quilombola<\/em> leader. The Nazi and racist attack goes beyond her as a historical figure, it also resonates as a case of religious racism<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n