a spiral conversation between the “terreiro” and ancestrality: childhood, community and belonging

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2025.89258

Keywords:

childhood, ancestrality, community, spiral time

Abstract

The article presents a conversation between Professor Edna Olimpia da Cunha and Professor Wanderson Flor do Nascimento, held in the historic Pedra do Sal, in Rio de Janeiro, which discusses childhood from the perspective of African traditions and the ways of thinking of the “terreiros”. The dialog addresses spiral time and the figure of Exu, who, represented as a child, carries the collective memory and plays with time, connecting past and present. This perspective breaks with linear, Western views of childhood, recognizing children as living manifestations of ancestry. The notion of community is central to the conversation, being described as a historical and relational entity that precedes and sustains the individual. Education, in turn, is approached as a continuous, relational and collective process, rooted in community practices, orality and ethics. In the terreiros, ancestry is lived in the present, challenging neoliberal and colonial logics that fragment collectivity and prioritize individualism. The teacher highlights the political role of terreiros as spaces of resistance and formation, which integrate tradition, belonging and transformation. The practices value interdependence between community members, creating alternative ways of existing and educating. The continuity of this formative model, which questions hegemonic paradigms, depends on a political and community engagement capable of sustaining these ancestral forms of coexistence, memory and formation.

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Author Biographies

edna olimpia da cunha, Secretaria Municipal de Educação

Graduada em Letras pela UERJ (1994), Doutora em Educação pela UERJ (2024). Professora de Língua Portuguesa da Prefeitura Municipal de Duque de Caxias e integrante do Núcleo de Estudos de Filosofias e Infâncias (NEFI/UERJ).

wanderson flor do nascimento, Universidade de Brasília

Graduado em filosofia, mestre em filosofia e doutor em bioética pela Universidade de Brasília (UnB). Professor do Departamento de Filosofia da UnB. Conselheiro do Conselho Nacional de Promoção da Igualdade Racial (CNPIR/MIR), período 2023-2025.

References

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FLOR DO NASCIMENTO. Wanderson. Entre apostas e heranças: contornos africanos e afro-brasileiros na educação e no ensino de filosofia no Brasil. Rio de janeiro: NEFI, 2020.

NIETZSCHE, Friedrich. Assim falou Zaratustra: um livro para todos e para ninguém. Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 2010.

SANTANA, Tiganá. Temporalidades, história e memória. In: CARNEIRO, Natália et al. (orgs.) Insumo para ancoragem de memórias negras. São Paulo: Oralituras, Fundação Rosa Luxemburgo, Casa Sueli Carneiro, 2022. p. 43-53.

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SOMÉ, Sobonfu. Welcoming spirit home: ancient African teachings to celebrate children and community. Novato, California: New World Library, 1999.

Published

2025-02-24

How to Cite

OLIMPIA DA CUNHA, Edna; FLOR DO NASCIMENTO, Wanderson. a spiral conversation between the “terreiro” and ancestrality: childhood, community and belonging. childhood & philosophy, Rio de Janeiro, v. 21, p. 01–30, 2025. DOI: 10.12957/childphilo.2025.89258. Disponível em: https://www.e-publicacoes.uerj.br/childhood/article/view/89258. Acesso em: 28 mar. 2025.

Issue

Section

Interviews