{"id":2511,"date":"2025-02-19T09:27:03","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/?p=2511"},"modified":"2025-02-19T09:27:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T12:27:03","slug":"orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/","title":{"rendered":"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published on July 18, 2024, in Folha de S. Paulo<\/a><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

As I mentioned in my last column<\/a><\/strong>, the Paulista Academy of Letters held an event this week to plant native trees of the Atlantic Forest at Parque do Cordeiro Martin Luther King, in the south zone of S\u00e3o Paulo. The chosen date for the action, July 17, coincides with Brazil\u2019s National Day for Forest Protection.<\/p>\n

The park is beautiful, and the cool morning with a clear sky was delightful. I am writing these lines just after returning from the planting event, which marked the inauguration of the Paulista Academy of Letters\u2019 grove. It was a special day, with the massive presence of members of the “House of Lygia” \u2014a reference to the celebrated writer Lygia Fagundes Telles<\/strong>, a former member of the Academy.<\/p>\n

I am a person who reveres nature. I truly get emotional when butterflies visit me, when I see a marmoset, or when I walk in silence among the leaves.<\/p>\n

Drawing from the wisdom of Afro-Brazilian terreiro traditions, we understand that orix\u00e1s\u2014the deities of the African diaspora\u2014are also manifestations of nature. That is, Iemanj\u00e1 is the sea, Oxal\u00e1 is the air, Oxum is the waterfall, and so on. One way to interpret the it\u00e3s\u2014 the mythical narratives\u2014is to recognize the unique characteristics of each of these natural forces.<\/p>\n

Ox\u00f3ssi, the great king of Ketu, is the guardian of the forest. As the it\u00e3s recount, he is the lone hunter with a single arrow who enters the woods by himself. He studies his prey and anticipates its movements. He is agile, silent, and precise. Meanwhile, back in the community, his return is eagerly awaited, and his hunt will be celebrated.<\/p>\n

However, Ox\u00f3ssi\u2019s independence transcends the notion of mere survival. He hunts not out of obligation, but for the good of the collective. There are many stories about his rebellious nature because his independence is his most invaluable possession.<\/p>\n

In one such story, Ox\u00f3ssi enters the forest and meets Ossaim, the keeper of the secrets of the leaves. Enchanted by him, Ox\u00f3ssi decides never to return. After some time, Iemanj\u00e1, his mother, sends Ogum, his older brother, to retrieve him, and Ox\u00f3ssi returns\u2014but only to bid farewell. Even though they are different, forest and sea continue to meet in some paradisiacal places along the Brazilian coast.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, let us take a moment to reflect on the forest through the lens of Ox\u00f3ssi. In this sense, one can only connect with the forest if there is respect. Otherwise, rebellion is inevitable, for the forest does not need you. But you depend on it\u2014to breathe, to eat, and to stay warm.<\/p>\n

The inauguration of the grove was an act of acknowledging this respect. By planting the jabuticabeira (jabuticaba tree) in honor of the patron of his chair, sociologist Jos\u00e9 de Souza Martins revived the etymological origins of the tree\u2019s name. Jabuticaba comes from the Tupi-Guarani language and can be translated as “the fruit of the jabuti” (a type of tortoise).<\/p>\n

As he explained in his tribute speech, the tree bears its succulent fruit multiple times a year. The jabutis gather at its base to eat them, crushing the fruits with their bony plates, which function like a kind of tooth\u2014and I remember this part vividly because I was impressed by the richness of detail about the tortoise\u2019s teeth in his impromptu speech.<\/p>\n

Through digesting the fruit, the jabutis end up planting it throughout the forest. Such was the alliance between the tortoise and the tree that it came to be called the jabuticabeira.<\/p>\n

Now, observe how complex the forest is and how it functions through mutual exchanges. The tree feeds the tortoise, and the tortoise sows the tree. There is a logic of collaboration, not exploitation. And since independence is the theme of today\u2019s text, the jabuticabeira does not depend solely on the tortoises to fertilize the land, as it also feeds the birds that nest in its branches.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, the tortoise is not dependent on the jabuticabeira either, as it eats other fruits. Certainly, they may be less tasty, less sweet, but to paraphrase the saying\u2014if we don\u2019t have jabuticabas, let\u2019s make do with leaves.<\/p>\n

Interdependent, the tortoise and the jabuticabeira establish a relationship of immense success. Just as the tree begins to fill up, the tortoise grows in anticipation and celebrates the arrival of the first fruit and the harvest that will follow.<\/p>\n

And so, the jabuticabeira was planted. I wish long life and abundance to that tree that honors Chair 22. It is a chair that moves me because, in addition to being so well represented by Jos\u00e9 de Souza Martins, it was previously held by Ruth Guimar\u00e3es, the first Black person in the history of the institution.<\/p>\n

It is said that Ox\u00f3ssi is also the hunter of hopes. Planting trees is sowing projects of respect, autonomy, and the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Originally published on July 18, 2024, in Folha de S. Paulo. As I mentioned in my last column, the Paulista Academy of Letters held an event this week to plant native trees of the Atlantic Forest at Parque do Cordeiro Martin Luther King, in the south zone of S\u00e3o Paulo. The chosen date for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[466,417,468,469,464,470,463,415,462,467,465],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOrix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters - Djamila Ribeiro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The inauguration of a grove by the Paulista Academy of Letters inspires a reflection on respect, and the symbolism of Ox\u00f3ssi.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters - Djamila Ribeiro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The inauguration of a grove by the Paulista Academy of Letters inspires a reflection on respect, and the symbolism of Ox\u00f3ssi.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Djamila Ribeiro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-02-19T12:27:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DALL\u00b7E-2025-02-19-09.25.36-A-stylized-digital-illustration-with-a-textured-painterly-effect.-oxossi.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/\",\"name\":\"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters - Djamila Ribeiro\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-02-19T12:27:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-02-19T12:27:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#\/schema\/person\/a928f404cf733e4c62686bedd437b9ee\"},\"description\":\"The inauguration of a grove by the Paulista Academy of Letters inspires a reflection on respect, and the symbolism of Ox\u00f3ssi.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"In\u00edcio\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/\",\"name\":\"Djamila Ribeiro\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#\/schema\/person\/a928f404cf733e4c62686bedd437b9ee\",\"name\":\"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e22ea52208b383d899430021cb4ecf26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e22ea52208b383d899430021cb4ecf26?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/localhost\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/author\/djamila\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters - Djamila Ribeiro","description":"The inauguration of a grove by the Paulista Academy of Letters inspires a reflection on respect, and the symbolism of Ox\u00f3ssi.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters - Djamila Ribeiro","og_description":"The inauguration of a grove by the Paulista Academy of Letters inspires a reflection on respect, and the symbolism of Ox\u00f3ssi.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/","og_site_name":"Djamila Ribeiro","article_published_time":"2025-02-19T12:27:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/DALL\u00b7E-2025-02-19-09.25.36-A-stylized-digital-illustration-with-a-textured-painterly-effect.-oxossi.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/","url":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/","name":"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters - Djamila Ribeiro","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-02-19T12:27:03+00:00","dateModified":"2025-02-19T12:27:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#\/schema\/person\/a928f404cf733e4c62686bedd437b9ee"},"description":"The inauguration of a grove by the Paulista Academy of Letters inspires a reflection on respect, and the symbolism of Ox\u00f3ssi.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/orixas-series-long-live-the-iconic-tree-of-chair-22-at-the-paulista-academy-of-letters\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"In\u00edcio","item":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Orix\u00e1s Series \u2013 Long Live the Iconic Tree of Chair 22 at the Paulista Academy of Letters"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/","name":"Djamila Ribeiro","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#\/schema\/person\/a928f404cf733e4c62686bedd437b9ee","name":"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e22ea52208b383d899430021cb4ecf26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e22ea52208b383d899430021cb4ecf26?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Reda\u00e7\u00e3o"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/localhost"],"url":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/author\/djamila\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2511"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2515,"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2511\/revisions\/2515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.djamilaribeiro.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}