Cemitério de Santa Isabel

Mucugê (Bahia – BA)

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Historically the city of Mucugê stood out for being the birthplace of the diamond cicle in the central region of Bahia state in the early nineteenth century. The diamond mines, according to the history, were discovered by the prospector Cazuza do Prado in 1844 while passing along the Mucugê river. The city is located in a lowland area bordered by tall mountains, grottos, abysses and rivers, 458 km far from Salvador (capital of the Bahia state). This vast territory formerly belonged to Sergeant-Major Francisco da Rocha Medrado, powerful landowner and slave-holder since provincial times. His descendants still have great political and economic power in the region. In 1822 the explorers Spix and Martius were already aware of “Serra of Sincorá”, set in the valleys of the rivers Paraguaçu and Contas.

Today the region is called “polygon of drought”, including the towns of Andaraí, Barra da Estiva, Palmeiras, Piatã and Rio das Contas.This is an irregular topography that crosses the Cordillera of the “Chapada Diamantina and Serra”. The municipality of Mucugê was officially founded on May 17^th, 1847. In the long run it came to the point of sheltering about twenty-five thousand people from Minas Gerais; foreigners of Arab, Jewish and French origin, and hundreds of slaves from Africa. The prosperity experienced at the time provided the local ”Coronelismo” (the term referred to the classic boss system under which the control of patronage was centralized in the hands of a locally dominant oligarch known as a “coronel”) with art and European fashion, luxury items such as pianos, clothing, porcelain, all the riches the diamonds could afford. This urban growth has also caused many social problems, including the occurrence of the epidemic of Cholera Morbus, and it was during this time of great mortality that the municipality realized the need of installing the Cemetery of Saint Isabel in 1855.

Timeline:

1844 – June 25^th – Cazuza do Prado finds diamonds in the lands of Mucugê.
1844 – Mucugê attracts over 30,000 inhabitants during the period of diamond mines.
1847 – The town of Mucugê is born.
1855 – Construction of the Cemetery St. Isabel.
1926 – The residents of Mucugê expel the Prestes Column Revolutionary Movement.
1943 – Mucugê becomes a county.
1980 – St.Isabel Cemetery is registered by IPHAN (National Artistic and Historical Heritage Institute).
1999 – The Mucugê Municipal Park is opened.
2007 – The city has 14,131 inhabitants according to population census.

St. Isabel Cemetery, also known as Byzantine Cemetery by the locals, is located north-westward of Mucugê at the foot of one of the Serra of Sincorá´s hills. It is divided into two parts: the walled one situated on the alluvial lands of the valley, where there are the shallow graves, and the other one composed of mausoleums built on the rocky slope of the mountain.

In this cemetery the epitaphs are scarce and the oldest date from 1909. One can identify graves of people who have contributed so much for Mucugê as the case of Colonel Augusto Landolpho (+1925); Mrs.Gertrudes Maria Medrado (+1909); Anatalina Pina Medrado (+1981); Ailda Gomes Pina (+1920); Antonio Bansabath Filho (+1945); Clovis Pina Medrado (+2001).

The Cemetery of St. Isabel of Mucugê is endowed with an atypical visual space. At first glance at Serra of Sincorá, one sees only tombs on the stones, built of brick covered with plaster and whitewashed ornamented with classical and medieval architectural elements, denominated by the local population as “Byzantine”. The graves are aligned horizontally, sequentially numbered, facing the front of the cemetery following the topography of the Serra´s slope.The stairs are interspersed with trenches full of native vegetation.

BARREL VAULT, the twentieth century. The tomb has a high pedestal over which the barrel vaults converge to a pillar topped by a little pinnacle – here we have religious architecture elements.

VISUAL HOMOGENEITY OF THE TOMBS, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The impact caused by the whitewashed tombs on the green vegetation and the gray stones from Serra of Sincorá encourages us to contemplate the genuine beauty of the Cemetery of St. Isabel of Mucugê – a unique architectural style that preserves the memory of the loved ones.

ENGRAVED RELIEFS, twentieth century. There are few sculptured reliefs in the style of classical figuration. They are set on the pillar and reproduced according to a single standard.

PYRAMID, the twentieth century. The family of Firmino Gonçalves Sacramento chose to ornament the top of the tomb with a small pyramid, according to the Masonic style.

MONUMENTAL PYRAMID, the twentieth century. This tomb stands out for having on its base a quite funneled pyramid topped by a Latin Cross.

CLOISTER VAULT, the twentieth century. The tomb has a square base and on its top a kind of sharp vault called domical or cloister vault – a reference to Christian ornaments.

SPIRES, the twentieth century. The tomb is provided with decorative elements set on the whole lime plaster surface. Observe carefully the stylized flowers and the spires – pinnacles that refer to the shape of a pine, the tree of life.

NATIVE VEGETATION, the twentieth century. The cemetery is interspersed by trenches filled with native vegetation – Brazilian savannah flowers as “mandacarus”, evergreens, ferns, etc.

CORBELS, the twentieth century. The corbels are elements in “S”shape that end up the base of the tomb. This kind of volute originates from the baroque style. There are similar tombs in the cemetery of Igatu city, Andarai district.

CONICAL ARCHES, the twentieth century. There is a great number of columns and arches on the base influenced by oriental style ornamented with lime plaster, in this way creating stylized bas-relief shapes.

MINIATURES OF CHURCHES, twentieth century. The right side of the cemetery concentrates a good number of simple tombs. They are small cubes whose tiny space can keep only one urn. Curiously the façade of some look like churches.

BORGES, Maria Elizia. Funerary Art in Brazil(1880-1930). 0). Italian Marble Carver Craft. Ribeirão Preto. Belo Horizonte: C/ Arte, 2002.
FUNCH, Roy. . A Guide to visit “Chapada Diamantina”. Salvador: Secretary of Culture & Tourism : EGBA, 1997.
MATTOS, Cibele de; ALMEIDA, Rafaela Caroline Noronha; DOURADO, Marilia. Mucugê Cemetery searching for an identity. Goiânia: ABEC III Meeting, UFG, 2008.
MUCUGÊ. Available in www.wikipedia.org (Accessed in August, 2008).
SPIX, Johann B.; MARTIUS, Carl. F. Brazil Tour. Vol. 2. Belo Horizonte: Itatiaia; São Paulo: EDUSP, 1981.

Sites:

// www.artefunerariabrasil.com.br/

Credits:

Coordination and Research: M Elizia Borges.
Website creation: Catu Design, 2008.
Website maintenance and Researcher: Ana Maria Linhares de Almeida – CNPq grant holder, 2008-2009.
Photography: Maria Elizia Borges, 2007.

Contact:

maelizia@terra.com.br