Kalungas

The Kalungas are Brazilians that descend from people who freed themselves from slavery, and lived in remote settlements in Goiás state, Brazil.

The Kalungas are one group of Quilombola, or people of African origin who live in hinterland settlements founded during the period of escaped slaves.

There is confusion about the meaning of the word Kalunga or Calunga, which, despite the same sound, have totally different meanings: Kalunga – connected to religious beliefs, world of the ancestors, cult of the forefathers, from them came the force; Calunga – small or insignificant thing; a way to call Negros, a famous or important person.

The narrow trails wind and climb, almost lost in the dense vegetation and stone walls fall abruptly into the low valleys.

The Kalunga communities of Goiás have existed for approximately 250 years, and first came back into contact with researchers and the federal government in the 1960s.