Fios da ancestralidade: uma análise da representação do cabelo/trança afro em Becos de Memória de Conceição Evaristo e Diário de Bitita de Carolina Maria de Jesus

Abstract

This study analyzes the representation of Afro hair and braids as elements that reveal ancestry, identity, and resistance in the works Becos da Memória (2006), by Conceição Evaristo, and Diário de Bitita (1986), by Carolina Maria de Jesus. Based on the idea that, although curly hair is a significant marker of Black culture and carries ancestral histories, it has long been stigmatized and rejected in society for falling outside the standards considered acceptable within the Brazilian social system, this research discusses how these writers reframe this perspective by attributing new dimensions to the Black body, including it in literature and creating space for it to be seen, heard, and acknowledged within a narrative that has historically silenced it. To support this analysis, the study draws on Afro-Brazilian and Afro-diasporic scholarship, such as Hooks, Munanga, Kilomba, and Nilma Lino Gomes, articulating theory and literature to examine how hair and braids appear both as elements of oppression and as expressions of identity. Through a qualitative analysis of the narratives, it was observed that hair goes beyond an aesthetic trait; it also functions as a symbol that exposes structural violence, questions beauty standards, and reaffirms the strength of African ancestry. By bringing these representations to the center of the literary field, Evaristo and Jesus enrich and expand the space for Black women’s voices in Brazilian literature, valuing experiences that were historically excluded and rarely legitimized by official discourse. Thus, this work reinforces the relevance of Afro hair as a marker of belonging, resistance, and memory within Afro-feminist literature