WRITING, HISTORY AND DISTINCTNESS BY THE MARGINS OF RIO NEGRO: territorialities of contact in the novel Um rio sem fim by Verenilde Pereira

Abstract

The narratives of interethnic contact in the Amazonian territory encompass encounters and confrontations, which can be visualized from the notions of identity, ethnicity and distinctness. In this way, decolonial writing plays a fundamental role of memory and denouncement, reinforcing itself as a path of resistance on account of actions of silencing and extermination suffered by indigenous peoples due to colonialisms that were perpetuated throughout history. When we think about academic and literary Amazonian production, Afro-indigenous author Verenilde Santos Pereira’s writing is a path that opens through the waters of the Rio Negro, bringing with it the intertwining of history and literature through a narrative with autobiographical features, in which female voices recount historical traumas, question crystallized truths, and challenge silencing. Thus, this study seeks to carry out a study based on the novel Um rio sem fim (1998), using bibliographical and documentary research, whose paths of investigation go through decolonial studies and the intertwining of history and literature. From the analysis, we note that the novel can be considered fundamental when we look at the context of native women in Amazonian territory from the perspective of decolonial writing in contemporary history.