Cumba

Born in the hinterlands of Cabinda, in Northern Congo, Cumba was enslaved and brought to Rio de Janeiro. She might have been around 14 years old when she arrived in Brazil in 1826, disembarking at Valongo Pier. She was sold for 160 mil-réis to Joana Rosa dos Santos. Soon after, the buyer went to court to undo the deal, claiming the African woman “as a habit had attacks of chronic illness in the Moons and half-Moons, becoming mad and furious.” Baptized with the Christian name of Mariana, Cumba died years later.