HERITAGE POLICY AND THE QUILOMBOLA COMMUNITIES AT THE SÃO FRANCISCO RIVER IN MINAS GERAIS/BRAZIL

Abstract

In regards to heritage, the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 contributed to the expansion of the categories of cultural assets protected and to the recognition, not only of the heritage linked to the official history of Brazil as a form of collective memory but also of the diversity of social groups as members of this cultural heritage, including indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, immigrants, and popular culture. It is noteworthy that, despite the importance of preserving the knowledge and ways of life from traditional communities, there is often a limitation in articulating heritage protection policies when it comes to not consecrated goods or not institutionally linked to the official history of the country. Therefore, by examining the material and immaterial cultural importance of the quilombola communities in the North of Minas Gerais, Brazil, this paper aims to analyze these limitations in the heritage policy concerning traditional communities and emphasize the cultural importance played by the quilombolas of the Middle Valley of the São Francisco River, Minas Gerais, Brazil.