Abstract

OLIVEIRA FILHO, Francisco Helton de Araujo. Family life of slaves in the Nossa Senhora do Carmo de Piracuruca parish, Piauí (1850-1888). Etnográfica [online]. 2023, vol.27, n.2, pp.319-340.  Epub Aug 22, 2023. ISSN 0873-6561.  https://doi.org/10.4000/etnografica.13560.

In this work, we analyze the family relationships of enslaved men and women who lived and worked in the region encompassing the parish of Nossa Senhora do Carmo de Piracuruca, Piauí, between 1850 and 1888 whether they were legitimized by religious or consensual norms, as well as by the ritualistic kinship ties formed through cronyism. We can see a variety of family arrangements formed by the captives of the parish of Piracuruca, a region with an economy focused on the domestic market, whether in small, medium or large properties. Through marriage and baptism records, it was possible to visualize several types of family arrangements of enslaved men and women with free and freed people who lived and worked together. Crossing the information with the slave classifications lists and population censuses of the parishes of Piracuruca allowed us to extract data on the family connections established by the captives, which point to a more complex picture of the slave family structure, elaborating different strategies according to available resources, values, and heterogeneous interests, mobilizing blood relatives, godfathers, neighbors and fellow captives.

Keywords : black slavery; slave family; godfathers; Free Womb Law; Piracuruca; 19^th century.

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