XVII Congress of the Brazilian Studies Association

Navigating Cultural Patrimony from the Global South: A Reflection on Collaborative Efforts with the National Association of Baianas de Acarajé in Brazil

• In Event: Interdisciplinary approaches to fieldwork in Brazil: ethnographic engagement through public scholarship, community organizing and cultural immersion

Abstract

Baianas de acarajé are predominantly older, Afro-Brazilian women street foods that sell the West African deriving black-eyed pea fritters called acarajé. Beyond their status as street vendors, baianas have come to exist as cultural icons of regional Bahian and national Brazilian identity. In 2005, the craft of the baianas de acarajé was recognized by IPHAN–the branch of the federal government entrusted with cultural management–as intangible cultural patrimony of the nation. Despite their symbolic, historical, and cultural importance, baianas remain largely working-class. Having conducted interdisciplinary ethnographic research with the National Association of Baianas (ABAM) and its members since 2013, this paper seeks to underscore the importance of carrying out research based in reciprocity and accountability, particularly when working with respected cultural icons that remain disenfranchised in numerous ways. This presentation will interrogate the role of foreign academic ethnographers in hopes to, on the one hand, underscore the skills and potential ethnography can hold for transnational community formation based in solidarity, reciprocity, and accountability, and on the other hand, reflect on the ways that working with marginalized communities of the Global South for scholarly production inevitably marks a differentiation between the two groups as the researcher receives professional and academic legitimacy. How can we pay critical attention to this differentiation and strive toward reciprocal possibilities based in ethical accountability? Drawing from ongoing collaborative work, I will focus on a recently co-created proposal developed between ABAM and myself for ABAM’s recognition as an advisory NGO within the realm of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. I seek to underscore the multi-level obstacles cultural patrimonial agents of the Global South face and how ethnographers can both intervene in these global dynamics, as well as reimagine and restructure academia.

Author

• Vanessa Castaneda, Davidson College