[Phd work 7 : collecting data]
Bolsas de Mandinga: Afro-Atlantic Amulets of Protection and Power
In the 18th century, Africans deported across the Portuguese Atlantic, to Madeira, Brazil, or Lisbon, created bolsas de mandinga, small amulets worn on the body. Made by ritual specialists, or those trained in exile, they combined Catholic prayers, herbs, bodily fluids, fabric, and sacred items like medals or coins.
These powerful objects served as spiritual, emotional, and physical survival tools in a world of enslavement. They were believed to stop bullets, calm the soul, protect against violent masters, or rekindle love. Bolsas circulated across Brazil, Portugal, and other colonial ports like Saint-Domingue and Cartagena.
Each bolsa turned the imposed remnants of Catholicism into a mobile, mysterious object of African-rooted power.
A striking example comes from 1730: in Lisbon, an African slave named José Francisco Pereira, a Vodun devotee, was arrested and accused of witchcraft. Like many others of his time, he attracted the Inquisition’s attention due to his spiritual knowledge and the use of bolsas. Many testimonies from both Africans and Europeans, especially during Inquisition trials, described the protective power of those who wore them. source : Interview du professeure Cécile Fromont, thethinkersgarden.com
