Dandara (full name in Portuguese: ''Dandara dos Palmares'') (1654 – February 6, 1694 CE) was an

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

warrior of the colonial period of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and was part of the

Quilombo dos Palmares Palmares, or Quilombo dos Palmares, was a ''quilombo'', a community of escaped slaves and others, in colonial Brazil that developed from 1605 until its suppression in 1694. It was located in the captaincy of Pernambuco, in what is today the Bra ...

, a settlement of Afro-Brazilian people who freed themselves from

enslavement Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, in the present-day state of

Alagoas Alagoas () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is ...

. After being arrested on February 6, 1694, she committed suicide, refusing to return to a life of slavery. She is a mysterious figure today, because not much is known about her life. Most of the stories about her are varied and disconnected. She and her husband

Zumbi dos Palmares Zumbi ( – November 20, 1695), also known as Zumbi dos Palmares (), was a Brazilian quilombola leader and one of the pioneers of resistance to enslavement of Africans by the Portuguese in colonial Brazil. He was also the last of the kings of ...

, the last king of the Quilombo dos Palmares, had three children.

Personality and abilities

Described as a hero, Dandara dominated the techniques of

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art and game that includes elements of dance, acrobatics, capoeira music, music, and spirituality. It likely originated from enslaved Mbundu people, of the Kingdom of Ndongo, in present-day Angola. The ...

and fought many battles alongside men and women to defend Palmares, the place where escaped slaves would go to live safely. Palmares was established in the 17th century in the Serra da Barriga, in the state of

, because it was difficult to access the area due to its dense vegetation. It is unknown if she was born in Brazil or in Africa. When she was a young girl, she joined a group of Afro-Brazilians to fight against slavery in Brazil. She helped create strategies to protect Palmares. Dandara was known as a fighter, but she also had interests in

hunting Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

and

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. She planted

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s, sweet potatoes,

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

, and

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

s. The people of Palmares, known as Palmarinos, produced tools for agriculture and weapons for war. They also worked with

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

, and

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

s. Initially, all of the activities and work of the Palmarinos was to create their self-sustaining community, but some did trades with villages and

mills Mills is the plural form of mill, but may also refer to: As a name * Mills (surname), a common family name of English or Gaelic origin * Mills (given name) *Mills, a fictional British secret agent in a trilogy by writer Manning O'Brine Places U ...

in the region. Attacks to Palmares became frequent starting in 1630, with the Dutch invasion in Brazil. According to the stories regarding Dandara, she had an important role in making her husband cut ties with his uncle Ganga-Zumba, who was the first big chief of

. In 1678, Ganga-Zumba signed a peace treaty with the government of the state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco ( , , ) is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.5 million people as of 2024, it is the List of Brazilian states by population, ...

. The treaty stated that people of Palmares who had been arrested were to be released. Also, all those born in Palmares were to be free people, not slaves, and they were granted permission to engage in commerce. However, in exchange, the people of Palmares had to stop giving refuge to any new runaway slaves and hand over to the Portuguese authorities any such runaways seeking shelter. Dandara and Zumbi dos Palmares are said to have opposed the deal because it did not end slavery, and in fact made Palmares complicit in its perpetuation. Ganga-Zumba was killed by one of the Palmarinos who opposed his proposal.

Tributes

*The

indie game An indie video game or indie game (short for independent video game) is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A ...

Dandara Dandara (full name in Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Dandara dos Palmares'') (1654 – February 6, 1694 CE) was an Afro-Brazilians, Afro-Brazilian warrior of the Colonial Brazil, colonial period of Brazil and was part of the Palmares (qu ...

'', developed by Long Hat House and published by Raw Fury, is inspired by Dandara's history. *A biography about her was written by author

Jarid Arraes Jarid Arraes (born 12 February 1991, Juazeiro do Norte) is a Brazilian poet and writer. She is the writer of such books as ''As Lendas de Dandara'', ''Heroínas Negras Brasileiras em 15 cordéis'', ''Um buraco com meu nome'', and ''Redemoinho em ...

as part of her 2015 cordel collection and book ''Heroínas Negras Brasileiras em 15 cordéis''. *The game

Civilization VI ''Sid Meier's Civilization VI'' is a 2016 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K (company), 2K. The mobile and Nintendo Switch ports were published by Aspyr Media. It is the sequel to ''Civilization V'' ...

features Dandara as a Great General in its Babylon Pack DLC

References

People from Pernambuco Afro-Brazilian people Rebel slaves 1694 deaths Brazilian slaves 17th-century Brazilian people 17th-century Brazilian women Women in war in Brazil Women in 17th-century warfare Women warriors 17th-century slaves 17th-century rebels {{Brazil-hist-stub