The Candomblé terreiro Egbe Ile Iya Omidaye Asé Obalayo, located in the neighborhood of Sacramento, in São Gonçalo, metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, belonging to traditional peoples of African origins, is the first heritage listed by the State Institute of Cultural Heritage (Inepac) this year and the third since 2016. The announcement was made today (11) by the Secretary of State for Culture and Creative Economy of Rio de Janeiro. The place is considered of great cultural and social relevance for the municipalities in the east of the metropolitan region of the state.
Led by Mãe Márcia de Oxum for about 27 years, the terreiro has been in operation for over 50 years and welcomes hundreds of people a month in psychological, religious and social terms. During the meetings held there, the space also addresses current issues, including human rights, women’s rights and social and racial equality. The terreiro is located at Rua Dalmir da Silva, lot 8.
Mãe Márcia evaluated that, as a reference center for many terreiros in São Gonçalo and neighboring municipalities, the fact that the terreiro is the first heritage listed by Inepac in 2022 constitutes a milestone and a celebration for the entire Candomblecist community. “It is certain that we count on the government to help us in any eventuality and share with us this responsibility of protecting the heritage”, she highlighted.
Commitment
According to the director of Inepac, Ana Cristina Carvalho, the Egbe Ile Iya Omidaye Asé Obalayo community was committed to the preservation of the buildings, trees and objects that are part of the listed space, which is now Rio’s cultural heritage.
He explained that “when the owner or possessor of the listed property yearns for listing and is committed to its preservation and conservation, as in the case of the Candomblé terreiro Egbe Ile Iya Omidaye Asé Obalayo, the legal protection conferred on the heritage by the act of listing remains, without a shadow of a doubt, much stronger”.
The Egbe Ile Iya Omidaye Asé Obalayo is the third terreiro listed by Inepac, thus adding to the Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá, located in São João de Meriti and listed in 2016, and the Manso Bantuqueno Ngomessa Kat’espero Gomeia of the Kongo/Angola Nation – Terreiro da Gomeia, located in Duque de Caxias and listed in 2021. These two terreiros are located in the Baixada Fluminense region.
