Maria Celestrina Rodrigues: ancestralidade e luta nas lições da kofá

Abstract

In the proposal of this collaborative research, in dialogue and partnership with the Kaingang, we will seek to record and remember the history of one of the Old Trunks of the Chimbangue Toldo, a memory of struggle, love, hope, and a strong legacy of resistance for his family and his group. Known as Old Mother, Maria Celestrina Rodrigues, one of the kofá (gradma) of the Kaingang of Toldo Chimbangue, was born on June 29, 1929, on the Chapada, in Toldo Pinhal, of Seara, SC. She was on the front line of the struggle for the demarcation of indigenous Reservation , in defense of her rights and her group, alongside other personalities who succeeded in their efforts, and are remembered and exalted by the Kaingang to this day. We know the story of the Old Mom in the teaching experience in the Toldo Chimbangue Indigenous Reservation a few months ago. The insertion in this environment was very rewarding, the coexistence with the community and the follow-up in their day-to-day was and is a very encouraging task. Empathy and appreciation developed in the relationships established with people and with that place. Indigenous culture is closely related to teaching work in Indigenous History and Culture classes. We established dialogues with members of the community and with the Kaingang elders, with the intention of improving the classes, and substantiating a knowledge construction guided by ancestral knowledge. In one of the classes with the 7th year students we researched the importance of ancestry in the Chimbangue Toldo. To this end, he wondered: "Who are the Old Trunks of Chimbangue?" This episode revealed a multitude of stories that have not yet been recorded. One of the foundations of research on Kaingang history and culture are the elders who constitute guardians of the history and memory of the group. In order to remember these narratives, specifically that of the Old Mom we thought of building an anthropological collaborative research in partnership with the Kaingang group, since Maria Celestrina Rodrigues is referenced as a living library of the Kaingang people of Toldo Pinhal and Toldo Chimbangue.