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Oi gente, tudo bem?
I'm tryna navigate embracing and learning about my culture. I'm Nigerian, but I'm also Afro-Brazilian. My family's surname is Da-Silva but I have my dad's surname so there's no indication of my Brazilian background. My mum's dad comes from Afro-Brazilian people and we descend from African people that were enslaved in Brazil. His parents came from Brazil and he was born in Brazilian quarters in Lagos, Nigeria. Many enslaved people or their descendants came to Popo Aguda and Brazilian quarters was created. These descendants are referred to as Aguda, and I'm proud of this.
It can be hard to feel like I have a place in Latino spaces because I've been brought up mostly with my African background. Eu nao falo Portugues, mas Eu nao falo Yoruba. I'm no less Nigerian because I don't speak Yoruba, the same way I shouldn't be any less able to connect with Brasileiro history because I don't speak Portuguese. There's a lot of connections that these two countries have, especially with food. There's many things that Afro-Brazilians and Nigerians eat and I enjoy them. I've also learnt how to make feijoada and tutu de feijao, and I've learnt little bits of Portuguese. I'm also listening to some Brazilian and other Latino songs. I'm trying to revive a culture that died the generation before my grandad. All my family have either been born here or in Nigeria, so no one speaks Portuguese and I don't want it to end like this. I also want to learn Yoruba because it's a powerful and beautiful language. I used to be shamed and made fun of for being Nigerian, and told that I was too dark to be Brazilian, but now I'm old enough to see that there's nothing wrong with my background or me trying to reconnect with it.
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Al3xx Russ0 (Vampire raw)
MDS VC EH BR, bora amigarrr
Sim!! It's a bit different because my grandad's grandad was born in Brazil and moved to Nigeria. I don't have much information on him unfortunately but he had his kids in Nigeria with a Nigerian woman (intermarriage was common since most people in Nigeria were indigenous). We're a recognised group called Aguda so we're made up of descendants of Afro Brazilians that returned to Africa during and after slavery. There's an area in Lagos called Brazilian Quarters because the Brazilian returnees settled there and my grandad grew up there :) most of us still have Portuguese surnames but some people took on indigenous surnames too. We have different cultural things like the Afro Brazilian heritage festival, Lagos Carnival and food like mingau (tapioca pudding) and frejon (derived from the word feijao). We used to have our own language called Portuguese Patual but it died out unfortunately since most people spoke indigenous languages and English. Being Aguda isn't super common and people have assimilated a lot so they may not fully understand or know of their heritage but that's why I want to bring it back and learn Brazilian Portuguese and hopefully go to Brazil one day. I'd love to connect with Brazilians too, but I know my heritage isn't the same as someone directly from there!
by Jacqs<3; ; Report
Vitorio
I'm sorry that you were told that you were "too dark to be brazilian", that doesn't make any sense. Brazil is one the most cultural diverse countries out there
I know it's so ridiculous! My family that came from Brazil were black because they were enslaved, people just assume everyone mixed and unambiguous black Brazilians existed and still do!
by Jacqs<3; ; Report