Caretas of Mingau, women in the independence of Bahia

The tradition of Caretas of Mingau was born 100 years ago in Saubara, Recôncavo of Bahia, as a way of celebrating the participation of women in the fight for the independence of Bahia.

In addition to the leaders known today, women played strategic roles and wisely created war tactics to help men during battles. One of them served to feed the fighters who were in the field against the Portuguese. After all, a body without the energy of food is incapable of having the strength necessary to fight.

Knowing the land where they lived and certain of the Portuguese male imagination who feared the unknown world of the indigenous and Africans, the women went out in groups, dressed in white, with their faces covered, making noises and carrying pans with food to be left in strategic places for the men who were on the battlefield.

Pretending to be a haunting, in addition to passing through opponents in order to feed those who were fighting, they still drove away Portuguese troops from the region.

Invisible by the officially told story and performing functions that ensured the physical, spiritual and emotional maintenance of men, women developed and executed operational plans creatively designed to meet the demands of the various struggles fought in Bahia. Planning responsible for offering conditions for man to be strengthened and the war operation to flow in a way to be victorious.

Remembering, through traditions, the strategies used by women during battles is, above all, to mark the presence and importance of women for historical conquests.

In the early hours of July 2, at 3 am, the procession of Caretas do Mingau leaves the door of Maria da Cruz's house, in Saubara. A living intangible heritage of women's participation in Bahia's independence.