Challenging colonial narratives: the (de)(re)constructing of quilombola identities in two communities in Paraná through a post-colonial lensThis article examines how the identities of quilombolas from two communities located in Palmas, in the Brazilian state of Paraná, have been (de)(re)constructed. To this end, we developed a theoretical discussion from a post-colonial perspective on identity, questioning the essentialist constructions present in the literature. Methodologically, we adopted the oral history approach for data collection, conducting interviews with quilombolas from both communities. From a heretological perspective, the analysis showed how narratives have been deconstructed, contested, and (re)told from the quilombolas’ own standpoint. In a context marked by territorial instability and structural racism, the findings indicate that the (de)(re)construction of identities is based on the recovery of their ancestry. Practices that are re-signified, reproduced, and (re)lived beyond the territorial limits of these communities reveal identity hybridity and a departure from the essentialist vision of identity, thereby challenging colonialist perspectives.
Keywords:
colonialism; heterology; identities; quilombolas; post-colonial