Nzoji ria Ngiji: Cosmopolitics of Remembrance at the Memorial of Iyá Elvira T'Osun

• In Event: Mobilising memory in the present

Description for Program

This work explores the cosmopolitics of memory within Candomblé, focusing on ancestral relationships and the mobilization of memory as resistance against real estate speculation. Ilê Asé Logun Cetomi was founded by Mãe Elvira T'Logun in Salvador, Brazil, during the 1950s and was later moved to the new capital, Brasília, in the 1970s. The terreiro remains alive today under the leadership of her daughter, Mãe Elvira T'Osun. Through her work, the memory of ancestral forces is invoked not only as a spiritual practice but also as a tool for resisting the pressures of urban development that threaten Afro-Brazilian sacred spaces. Ilê Asé Logun Cetomi stands as a symbol of the ongoing struggle to preserve cultural and spiritual heritage in a rapidly changing urban landscape. This presentation will explore how Mãe Elvira’s legacy, sustained by her daughter, highlights the role of memory in Candomblé and its capacity to protect against erasure and displacement.

Author

• Guilherme Oliveira Lemos, University of Virginia