THE SONG THAT HAS BEEN SUNG BY THE PEOPLE OF GUINEA BISSAU SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT FORGET THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO WERE TAKEN FROM THE PORT OF CACHEU AND ENSLAVED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC....THOUGH THE EUROPEAN CHRISTIANS ERASED FROM THEIR MEMORY KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR HOMELAND, THE FAMILY MEMBERS LEFT BEHIND NEVER FORGOT....

Cacheu

Cacheu da Silva (mother Cacheu) tie your bambaran (typical mothers cloth) show the world that a mother never sleep, please mother, show them, show them a mother never forget

Tell the people that came to visit you, this people want to know the history of our Guinee, about the bravery of our people, our Sons and daughters taken from us

Tell them that since long ago, you did not sleep and you were never sleepy and you have seen it all

You still remember, waiting and looking for all your Sons (sons and daughters) of Guinee what happen to them

Since then you never sleep again, you were restless, always watching, so much that your neck looks longer, longer because since then you’ve never slept again until today always watching and waiting

Cacheu da Silva (mother Cacheu), Show them, show the all world that a mother never forget never sleep

Since yesterday you stand still like a statue, watching,

Sadness have consumed and break your heart

Show them the signs (traces) that have been left behind,

Let the world be witness, Cacheu stills exist, and it never disappeared

Despite all the pain and sadness, let us stand up; let us do the biggest ceremony (prayers and sacrifices to powerful spirits and ancesters) to our Brothers and Sons taken from us

They have chained them, foot and neck, they chain the foot and necks of our Brothers and sons

We celebrate your bravery and your courage for standing and not giving up for them mother (Cacheu da Silva)

A mother never sleep, show the all world that a mother never forget

A big boat came to the big port, a boat of suffering a boat of evil

Where did they took our Brothers and Sons

We eared names, Cuba, Maranhao (America and South America) Brazil, those who were not lucky enough have died and thrown out to the bottom of the ocean.

Mother you have seen all this, but mother tie your bambaram (Cacheu da Silva mara bu bambaram) and show them that a mother never sleep a mother never forget, Cacheu stills remember.

From November 19th to 25th, 2010, 20 quilombola people from the state of Maranhão, Brazil, traveled to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.

This short film portrays a week of intense cultural exchange between quilombola, Guinean, and Cape Verdean people. It reflects the cultural richness of Guinea-Bissau and the warmth with which these descendants of African slaves were received.

As Verónica Gomes, a project technician in Brazil, says, "The quilombola people, to a certain extent, experienced an intense sense of belonging (...) The historical points of the places visited, the cuisine, the songs, the dances, the African aesthetics, the beliefs, the African hospitality, the structural problems of the political organization had a great impact on the hearts and lives of the quilombola people, who had to look at Africa closely to better understand themselves." (...)

Photographic record of the cultural exchange at http://www.flickr.com/photos/comunica...

Learn more about the project at https://www.imvf.org/project/o-percur...

Development Partners: European Union, Camões, I.P., IMVF, ACONERUQ, Platform of NGOs of Cape Verde and Action for Development (AD)

#Quilombos #Quilombolas #Culture