slavenkerkhof 1

There is no denying the quilombola origin of the village of Gundú... 

the primitive name of the Sítio da Cachoeira dos Rates... 

current municipality of Carmo da Cachoeira. 

The Gundú quilombo appears on the map drawn up by Captain Francisco França in 1760, on the occasion of the destruction of the Cascalho quilombo, in the region of Paraguaçu. On the map, the village of Gundú is located near the meeting of the Carmo stream and the Salto stream, forming the Couro do Cervo stream, which is also represented on the Capitain França map.

What would have been the origin of the Gundú quilombo? 

Who would have been your boss? 

What is the meaning of the expression Gundú? 

When would the quilombo have been destroyed? 

Why did it survive as a village with 80 houses?

To answer such questions we have to go back in time, referring to a document older than Captain França's map. 

It is a letter from the Captain Mor de Baependi, Thomé Rodrigues Nogueira do Ó, addressed to the governor of the captaincy on August 23, 1736. The letter tells of an attack suffered by a resident near the crossroads of the Caminho Velho (Cruzília), by blacks coming from a quilombo that was 'three or four days away.' 

According to Captain Mor, in the attack on the resident, the quilombolas 'not only took his life, but also made anatomy of his body', also kidnapping his children, two girls and a boy.

Alleging the need to use the experienced services of a Captain-do-Mato, Captain Mor asked the governor to issue a charter to João do Prado Leme, who located and attacked the quilombo on December 19, 1736. 

From his account we extracted important records: 'They killed a (black) who resisted with more force, for the many arrows he sent... Because of the rainy weather that made the search difficult, they collected the loot [buit], not forgetting to take the head of the (black) they killed, which they put at the crossroads.' 

In João do Prado Leme's account, he also talks about the escape of the quilombo chief, the 'mulatto named King, with a concubine, two children and four slaves.'

[bron]