Challenging colonial narratives: the (de)(re)constructing of quilombola identities in two communities in Paraná through a post-colonial lens

Abstract

This article examines how the identities of quilombolas from two communities located in Palmas, in the Brazilian state of Paraná, have been (de)(re)constructed. To this end, we developed a theoretical discussion from a post-colonial perspective on identity, questioning the essentialist constructions present in the literature. Methodologically, we adopted the oral history approach for data collection, conducting interviews with quilombolas from both communities. From a heretological perspective, the analysis showed how narratives have been deconstructed, contested, and (re)told from the quilombolas’ own standpoint. In a context marked by territorial instability and structural racism, the findings indicate that the (de)(re)construction of identities is based on the recovery of their ancestry. Practices that are re-signified, reproduced, and (re)lived beyond the territorial limits of these communities reveal identity hybridity and a departure from the essentialist vision of identity, thereby challenging colonialist perspectives.