The Traditional Law of the Maroon Community of Baú

Abstract

This scientific article exposes the traditional law of occupation and uses of the territory of the maroon community of Baú, located in the municipality of Serro, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The research was carried out based on the methodology of participant observation, with the immersion of researchers in the daily life of the community. The observation and analysis of social practices provided the material for the construction of traditional maroon law categories. Empirical research revealed that the maroon community of Baú regulates the appropriation and use of its territory through three legal categories: “house/yard”, “forests/fields” and “cake lands”. The social categories of “house/yard”, “forests/fields” and “cake lands” summarize the norms of appropriation and use of territory, which prevail in the lives of the maroons of Baú, disciplining who and in what way can use the different portions of the territory occupied by the community. This form of regulating the appropriation and use of territory conflicts with the official state law. It is argued that the normative conflict must be resolved with the prevalence of traditional normativity as a result of the right to the continuity of the maroon way of life.