Iaiá de Ouro

Iaiá de Ouro was one of the nicknames of Feliciana Maria Olímpia, a free Black woman who had much prestige in Recife in the second half of the nineteenth century. Accused of prostitution and being a “famous witch of the Largo do Forte das Cinco Pontas (the Five Point Fort Square),” she played an important role in connecting the religious experiences of Pernambuco’s Black urban communities, especially involving catimbós and xangôs. Living in the Largo do Forte das Cinco Pontas, Feliciana was also accused of undue enrichment with her healing practice. The newspapers called her “the famous sorceress Yaya” and, despite intolerance, Feliciana wielded great power over enslaved and free people, men and women, the poor and, perhaps, even the elite, which sought her to cure their ills.