Past Presents Uses of Oral History and Public History Initiatives in a Historical Approach to Afro-Indigenous Heritage and Memories in Minas Gerais

The article presents a reflection on shared authority, authorship, and the construction of historical knowledge within the scope of the project Passados Presentes: Patrimônios e Memórias Negras (Africanas e Afro-Indígenas) em Minas Gerais (Past Presents: Black Heritage and Memories (African and Afro-Indigenous) in Minas Gerais). The methodology of the collective research was organized based on attentive and horizontal listening to the history and memories of the holders of Black heritage in Minas Gerais, such as quilombos, reinados/congados, jongos, and folias de reis, to establish epistemic dialogues between socially and culturally localized knowledge, that is, between researchers from participating universities and the masters/holders of the heritage/memories focused. This article is based on four oral history interviews, conducted with genealogical and life history scripts, and featuring the four leading consultants/holders participating in the project. These interviews emphasised the relationships of each of the interviewees with the black territoriality of the cities in which they live and the historicity of slavery and Afro-indigenous interactions in their narratives. It also draws on the oral tradition of “caboclo and pretos velhos” (elderly black men) in “umbandas”, a religious phenomenon that permeates all the trajectories and groups studied, as a key to understanding the narratives examined. The conclusion seeks to demonstrate the importance of epistemic dialogue as a tool for renewing historiographical knowledge.

KEYWORDS:
afro-indigenous heritage; oral history; public history