The amefricanas heroines: Jarid Arraes'cordéis under decolonial feminist analyses

Abstract

The cordéis from the collection Heroínas Negras Brasileiras, by Jarid Arraes, are positioned in this article as decolonial literary productions, as they present the stories of Amefricanas, black women whose trajectories were significant for the history of Brazil. The flyers are used by the writer as a political tools, with approaches relevant to black and decolonial feminisms, as well as maintaining important elements for cordel literature, the “estética da tradição” (ARRAES, 2019). The cordéis in the collection are analyzed from non-hegemonic repertoires proposed by intellectuals related to decolonial feminism, such as the methodological category of Amefricanidade, by Lélia Gonzalez (1988), the concept of fractured locus by María Lugones (2014), as well as the movements dialectics between oppression and activism, by Patricia Hill Collins (2019). The location of the Amefrican women in their potential as heroines that produce knowledge of resistance, allows us to also discuss the positions of heroes and anti-heroes in the field of cordel literature, including the reorganization operated by the cordelista.