Rabelados Community

The Rabelados (from the Portuguese rebelados, "rebels") are a religious community primarily found in the interior of the island of Santiago of Cape Verde. They were among the groups which revolted against the liturgical reforms of the Catholic Church introduced in the 1940s, isolating themselves from the rest of society.

In the 1940s the Catholic Church sent various priests to Cape Verde to replace local priests and introduce alterations in the celebrations of the Mass and other religious customs, particularly religious education.
Some groups amongst the population rebelled against these alterations. Known in the Cape Verdean Creole language as rabelados ("rebels"), they came to practice their earlier traditions in secrecy.

Forced to form cohesive groups in order to survive, the Rabelados community primarily took refuge in the interior of Santiago, in inaccessible mountainous areas, primarily around the municipalities of Tarrafal and Santa Cruz. In those semi-clandestine, isolated conditions, they preserved their religious and cultural traditions, and independence, in the face of the Catholic hierarchy and political powers.

The largest community of Rabelados currently live in Espinho Branco. They are primarily involved in agriculture, fishing, and handcrafts. Their religious ceremonies take place on Saturdays or Sundays. On those days they do not work, but travel long distances on foot to ceremonial locations, and fast until mid-afternoon.

The community has recently become more open to the outside world, and academic studies of the community. Academic Júlio Monteiro wrote his work Os rebelados da ilha de Santiago de Cabo Verde (Centro de Estudos de Cabo Verde, 1974).In 2004 a CD was produced with religious chants of the Rabelados, including traditional themes rarely encountered elsewhere: Cânticos sagrados de Cabo Verde - A litania dos Rabelados (Abidjan/Quintalvideo). The painter Misá has also worked researching the culture and traditions of the community, having guided Rabelado painters, such as Tchetcho, to participate in ARCO, Feira Internacional de Arte Contemporânea de Madrid, in February 2007.



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Rabelados Community

The rabelados constitute a social group that has undergone a process of identity transformation, unique in the country. Over several decades, from the 1940s to the present, they have severely defended their identity forged in a conjuncture marked by conflicts and disagreements with the Church and the State. Today they are more open to visitors and in some localities they have developed handicraft projects, especially in painting and pottery, and have settled on programs for the improvement of their living conditions and greater dissemination of their characteristic way of life, much admired by national and foreign visitors.

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