Sal procession to remember slavery, Cape Verde

Every Sunday there is a 'procession' of Cape Verdeans on Sal, to remember the days of slavery. I've found nothing about it on the internet so don't know details. The locals cover themselves in black and parade through Santa Maria. Some wear chains. They are accompanied by a group of drums.

For three centuries from 1456 the Cape Verde islands were a setting for the transatlantic slave trade. But even in the 19th century, the slaves led very different lives from those in the Americas. On Cape Verde, families developed from the “free” people and slaves who lived together peacefully. After an uprising of the slaves in 1853, which was suppressed with much bloodshed, slavery was finally abolished on Cape Verde in 1878. From that time on, cultivation of the land was operated in the sharecropping system, which still is typical for the agricultural of Cape Verde.

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See my other Cape Verde blogs :

Salt from Sal

Vila Verde and Santa Maria pier and fish

Santa Maria town and people

Scenery in southern Sal

Scenery in northern Sal

Flora & fauna of Sal

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© Liz Price
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