Luísa Mahin (born in the early 19th century) was a formerly enslaved woman of African origin.[1][2] A controversial character, she is believed to have taken part in the organization of the slave uprisings that shook the province of Bahia in the first decades of the nineteenth century. She was supposedly a major player and strategist in the Malê Revolt, in which she helped inform the others involved through written communications in Arabic.[3]
However, there is no historical evidence of her participation in the revolts, which leads some historians to consider her a kind of alter ego of her son, the abolitionist poet Luís Gama.[4][5]
Biography
editHer origins are uncertain. It is not known whether she was born in the Costa da Mina in Africa or in Bahia. A member of the Mahi cultural group, from which her surname comes, Luísa Mahin bought her own freedom in 1812.[3] Her son Luís Gama described her as a short, thin, pretty woman with teeth "as white as snow," proud, generous, long-suffering and vengeful.[6]
Legacy
editA biography about her was written by author Jarid Arraes as part of her 2015 cordel collection and book Heroínas Negras Brasileiras em 15 cordéis.[7]
References
edit- ^ A história do líder abolicionista Luiz Gama e Luisa Mahin | Nação | TV Brasil | Cidadania (in Brazilian Portuguese), 2017-08-17, retrieved 2021-08-06
- ^ Kennedy, James H. (1974). "Luiz Gama: Pioneer of Abolition in Brazil". The University of Chicago Press Journals. 59 (3): 255–267. doi:10.2307/2716766. JSTOR 2716766. S2CID 149563641.
- ^ a b "Luiza Mahin". www.batalawashington.com. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
- ^ de 2019, Ale SantosAle Santos4 de Junho; 3h05 (4 June 2019). "Para a história, Dandara e Luisa Mahin não existem". The Intercept Brasil (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-08-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Gomes, Karol (2020-01-08). "Dandara dos Palmares e Luísa Mahin são eleitas heroínas da pátria pelo Senado". Hypeness. Retrieved 2021-08-06.
- ^ Kennedy, James H. (1974). "Luiz Gama: Pioneer of Abolition in Brazil". The Journal of Negro History. 59 (3): 255–267. doi:10.2307/2716766. ISSN 0022-2992. JSTOR 2716766. S2CID 149563641.
- ^ Arraes, Jarid (2020-10-09). Heroínas negras brasileiras em 15 cordéis [Brazilian black heroines in 15 cordéis] (in Brazilian Portuguese). Editora Seguinte. ISBN 9786557820070.