Slavery and Freedom in Brazil
Retreat
in Bahia
29/04 a 04/05
Join us for this special event, organized by the Círculo Zen Peacemakers Brasil (Zen Peacemakers Brazilian Circle) community. The retreat will take place in Bahia, in Salvador and the Recôncavo Baiano. During the three centuries of the slave trade in Brazil, around 5 million enslaved Africans were sent to Brazil, with Bahia being the second main destination - after Rio de Janeiro - to work in the incredibly lucrative and barbaric sugar fields. More than three-quarters of the inhabitants of Bahia have their roots in Africa, and so African culture was more protected there than anywhere else in the country.
Many of the enslaved people escaped from the plantations and formed communities of fugitives, known as "quilombos". The members of the quilombos created new ways of life, focusing mainly on agriculture and incorporating customs and rituals that their ancestors had brought from Africa.
Our journey
Initially, we will meet in Salvador to get to know each other, receive general information and a talk about the basic references of the event. In the capital of Bahia, the center of Brazilian/African culture, we will stay at the Dom Amando Convent, a catholic welcome center inspired by Mary Most Holy and Saint Francis of Assisi.
We will visit the Luiza Mahin School in the community of Santa Luzia, where we will learn about its social and cultural initiatives, educational opportunities for underprivileged children and solidarity economy initiatives. And we will collaborate on a voluntary basis in some of the social support activities carried out there. We will also see places relevant to the theme of the retreat, such as Pelourinho, with its beautiful architecture, where we will attend a special mass in the Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos. There, we will receive historical information and see a place where human beings brought from Africa to be enslaved were sold.
Still in Salvador, we will be welcomed at "Senzala do Barro Preto" and "Instituto da Mulher Negra Mãe Hilda Jitolu". There, we'll take part in ancestral dialogues with Dete Lima and Valéria Lima, and at lunch we'll have a traditional gastronomic experience.
Next, we'll head to the Recôncavo Baiano, where we'll be welcomed at the CEBB (Bodhisatva Center for Buddhist Studies), a Tibetan Buddhist practice center led by Lama Padma Samten.
In the region, we will first visit the Quilombo Kaonge, where we will meet its inhabitants, learn about their culture, their way of life, their history and their community of solidarity, and visit their Umbanda terreiro.
We'll follow the “Freedom Route” in the region of the municipality of Cachoeira, witnessing the Portuguese and African colonial legacies. We will take a guided tour of the Convent of Santo Antônio do Paraguassu, in the Church of Santiago do Iguape, where we will also meditate and hold ceremonies in memory of the many who were killed there.
Testimonials
Please accept our gratitude for joining us on this retreat. Below we share some very important background information about your participation. Please read it carefully and keep it handy to refer to during the retreat.
* If is not possible for you to come for our Retreat at this time, we invite you to participate supporting the development of a basic infrastructure for the next steps of Brazilian Zen Peacemaker Circle. Any collaboration is precious and will be received with gratitude.
You can use this link:
GoFundMe
PayPal
The Three Tenets
All aspects of the retreat are based on the Three Principles of Zen Peacemakers:
Not knowing:letting go of fixed ideas about yourself, others and the universe.
Bearing witness:to the joys and sufferings of the world.
Taking action:which arise from Not Knowing and Bearing witness.
The Three Tenets are and will be our anchor to which we will return every day of the Retreat. They are a powerful way of living life and responding to the needs of the world.
Basic Information
. Período das inscrições – até 21.abril.2025
. Vagas limitadas, reservadas após a confirmação de inscrição pelo depósito do total da contribuição, no valor de R$ 1.480,00 por participante residente no Brasil. O valor cobrirá somente os custos operacionais do Retiro. Em um critério de transparência, ao final do Retiro partilharemos as informações relativas aos valores recebidos e pagamentos realizados.
. Chave PIX para depósito da inscrição: jorgekoho@gmail.com (Bradesco)
. What does the individual contribution cover?
. Accommodation and meals for the duration of the Retreat, as follows:
- from April 29 to May 1, 2025: Dom Amando Convent, Km 6.5, Av. Aliomar Baleeiro - Jardim Nova Esperança, Salvador (BA) - 41245-020
- May 2 to 4, 2025: CEBB Recôncavo
- May 1, 2025: visit and lunch at the Mãe Hilda Jitolu Black Women's Institute
. Travel during the Retreat (from registration to disengagement).
. Participation in all activities and Practices during the Retreat, with qualified guidance and support from the Organizing Team.
. Direct financial contribution to the communities that will receive our presence.
. Any items not mentioned will be the individual responsibility of the participants (e.g. travel to and from Salvador, accommodation outside the Retreat period, purchases of personal interest, etc.).
. We will adopt Solidarity Economy guidelines, with transparency in the management of the retreat's income and costs. In this sense, the Practice of Generosity (Dana Paramita) helps to maintain and continue the Teachings. As a matter of information, all the people involved in making the Retreat possible act as volunteers, covering their individual expenses, including national and international airfares.
Email for contact/information:
zpbr@etik.com
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