Corpos de suor e axé representações e lutas dos trabalhadores portuários no pós-abolição: representações sociais, conflitos e associativismo negro no Porto de Salvador (1925-1929)

Abstract

This monograph investigates the formation of the collective identity of stevedores at the Port of Salvador, Bahia. Based on the premise that the working class is defined not only by economic factors but by a complex network of sociability, the research analyzes how Afro-Brazilian religiosity, popular festivities, and leisure acted as tools of resistance and political cohesion. The theoretical framework is based on the concepts of memory and silencing (Michael Pollak), imagined communities (Benedict Anderson), and the perspective of class experience (E.P. Thompson), critically engaging with Gilberto Freyre's classical historiography on Brazilian social formation. The methodology consists of cross-referencing bibliographic research with Oral History, using reports from port workers and emblematic leaders such as João de Adão. The results indicate that the union organization of the Bahian stevedores was built autonomously and multidimensionally, subverting institutional tutelage attempts such as those of the Catholic Workers' Circles and transforming cultural and religious capital into an instrument of dignity and political sovereignty. It is concluded that the identity of the Salvadoran stevedore is the result of a "unique geometry," where the sweat of labor, the axé of the terreiros, and the strategic joy of street festivals, such as Filhos de Gandhy, merge to ensure the survival and historical prominence of the category.

This monograph investigates the formation of the collective identity of stevedores at the Port of Salvador, Bahia. Based on the premise that the working class is defined not only by economic factors but by a complex network of sociability, the research analyzes how Afro-Brazilian religiosity, popular festivities, and leisure acted as tools of resistance and political cohesion. The theoretical framework is based on the concepts of memory and silencing (Michael Pollak), imagined communities (Benedict Anderson), and the perspective of class experience (E.P. Thompson), critically engaging with Gilberto Freyre's classical historiography on Brazilian social formation. The methodology consists of cross-referencing bibliographic research with Oral History, using reports from port workers and emblematic leaders such as João de Adão. The results indicate that the union organization of the Bahian stevedores was built autonomously and multidimensionally, subverting institutional tutelage attempts such as those of the Catholic Workers' Circles and transforming cultural and religious capital into an instrument of dignity and political sovereignty. It is concluded that the identity of the Salvadoran stevedore is the result of a "unique geometry," where the sweat of labor, the axé of the terreiros, and the strategic joy of street festivals, such as Filhos de Gandhy, merge to ensure the survival and historical prominence of the category.