"Alima b'ê dê, Naviyu b ê dê," which translates to "soul has left, ship has sailed," is a poignant line from D’jambi, a syncretic ritual in São Tomé e Príncipe that blends spiritual and religious traditions from Angola, Benin, and Congo with Catholicism. It is sung in Forro, the National language. This project explores the deep cultural and social legacy of São Tomé e Príncipe, an archipelago that played a pivotal role in the Portuguese slave trade from the 16th to the 19th century, when slavery was officially abolished. Despite this formal end, the islands continued under colonial exploitation, using a system akin to slavery known as "contratados" (contracted labor), which became a prototype for the plantation system based on slave labor in the Americas. São Tomé e Príncipe achieved independence in 1975, marking the cessation of such forced labor practices.
Considering D’jambi as a vector—or boundary object—this project addresses the struggles of people torn from their families and forcibly enslaved and brought to the archipelago, and their descendants, examining how trauma and violence are healed individually and collectively within this ritual.
Through photographs, videos, sound recordings, and interviews conducted in collaboration with local healers, anthropologists, writers, and poets, the project captures the intense rhythms, the atmospheric dynamics, and the bodily movements that precipitate men, women, and children into becoming vessels for spirits within the 'terreiro'. It is a profound meditation on life, death, the body, spirits, and ancestors' role as restitution agents, framed within a broader contemplation on existence, mortality, and the spiritual legacy of colonialism, emphasizing the role of spirits and ancestral figures in mediating past injustices and defining social relations.
The project then presents a nuanced interpretation of spirits and ancestral presences: as agents that challenge temporal and spatial constraints to revise historical narratives; as symbols for critiquing the residual impacts of colonial oppression and calling for social justice; and as figures called to action in disputing historical narratives, thereby critiquing and challenging their continued marginalization. Through this, the project pushes forward the discourse on healing and restitution from the memory of imperial legacies.
"Alima b'ê dê, Naviyu b ê dê" emphasizes the vital role of art and cultural narrative in fostering critical introspection and dialogue. It connects the echoes of historical events with ongoing discussions about identity, belonging, and resilience, offering a reflective space for confronting and healing from the traumas of colonialism.
