Greetings to Reis Malunguinho (Reis Malunguinho)

In an insurgent and anti-colonial Brazilian Northeast, the number of fugitives and quilombos increased, while the quilombos’ main leader gained fame. He was João Batista, nicknamed Malunguinho, and lived in Catucá forest, Zona da Mata, near Recife. The problem is that there were both “real” and “legendary” Malunguinhos at the time. “Malungo” was the term used by enslaved Africans to refer to their slave-ship companions, and this symbolic kinship was also probably extended to those who fled together. In Jurema terreiros, the image used to represent Malunguinho, a spiritual being, is Saint John the Baptist, evincing cultural exchanges between Africans of different origins, indigenous populations and religious doctrines such as Spiritism. Currently, Malunguinho is a master, a caboclo and an exu. In the past he prevented one’s capture, now he delivers people from envy and misfortune.