The story
Festa da Boa Morte in Cachoeira
Festa da Boa Morte is a three-day August observance in Cachoeira, Bahia, led by the Irmandade da Boa Morte, a Catholic sisterhood founded by formerly enslaved and freed Black women in the early nineteenth century. It blends Marian devotion with Candomble ritual, moving between solemn mourning processions and samba de roda celebration, and stands as one of Brazil's oldest continuously practiced Afro-Brazilian religious traditions.
The Irmandade da Boa Morte, a lay Catholic sisterhood founded by formerly enslaved and freed Black women in the early nineteenth century, has kept its August observance alive in Cachoeira for roughly two centuries, making it one of the oldest continuously practiced Afro-Brazilian religious traditions in the country.