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Image / Women and children collecting water, San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, 1977

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Title
Women and children collecting water, San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia, 1977
Creator
Cross, Richard, 1950-1983
Date Created and/or Issued
1977
Publication Information
California State University, Northridge
Contributing Institution
California State University, Northridge
Collection
Richard Cross Photographs (Bradley Center)
Rights Information
Use of images from the collections of the Tom & Ethel Bradley Center is strictly prohibited by law without prior written consent from the copyright holders. The responsibility for the use of these materials rests exclusively with the user.
The Bradley Center may assist in obtaining copyright/licensing permission to use images from the Richard Cross collection. http://www.csun.edu/bradley-center/contact
Description
Women and children stand on muddy ground while collecting water in the village of San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia. There is also a mule. Girls from a very young accompany their mothers and other women to the well (or casimba), which are the holes in the stream bed from which water is drawn for daily life in homes. Piped water arrived in 1978 and until then the creek was the village's drinking supply and the place to do laundry and bathing. A section of the river was closed and off limits for all adult males. They stand next to containers and a mule in an outdoor location. San Basilio de Palenque, a town located 31 miles from Cartagena, is considered the first community to officially free enslaved people in the Americas because, on August 23, 1691, the Spanish King Charles II signed a royal charter recognizing the freedom communities in the María Mountains. Local authorities, however, did not sign a treaty with the communities of free slaves until January of 1714 acknowledging their freedom and ordering the establishment of the town of Palenque San Basilio Magno. People in San Basilio de Palenque speak a Spanish-based creole language known as Palenquero. According to local public records, in 1975 the village had 2,400 residents (mostly farmers or day laborers) and 388 houses. Colombian anthropologist Nina S. De Friedemann had been studying the Afro-Colombian community of San Basilio de Palenque since 1973 for the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and Richard Cross joined her to do work as a visual anthropologist in June 1975. This image illustrates Cross’ anthropological category: Aerial perspective of Palenque.
Mujeres y niños yacen parados sobre un terreno fangoso mientras colectan agua en el pueblo de San Basilio de Palenque, Colombia. También se observa una mula. Las niñas desde muy jóvenes acompañan a sus madres y otras mujeres al pozo (o casimba), que son los agujeros en el lecho del arroyo del que se extrae el agua para el uso diario en los hogares. El agua entubada llegó en 1978 y hasta entonces el arroyo era el suministro de agua potable de la aldea y el lugar para lavar la ropa y bañarse. Una sección del río estaba cerrada y fuera de los límites para todos los machos adultos. Están parados junto a contenedores y una mula en un lugar al aire libre. San Basilio de Palenque, una ciudad ubicada a 50 kilómetros de Cartagena, es considerada la primera comunidad en liberar oficialmente a las personas esclavizadas en las Américas porque, el 23 de agosto de 1691, el rey español Carlos II firmó una carta real que reconoce las comunidades de libertad en María Montañas. Las autoridades locales, sin embargo, no firmaron un tratado con las comunidades de esclavos libres hasta enero de 1714 reconociendo su libertad y ordenando el establecimiento de la ciudad de Palenque San Basilio Magno. La gente en San Basilio de Palenque habla un idioma criollo en español conocido como Palenquero. Según los registros públicos locales, en 1975 el pueblo tenía 2.400 residentes (en su mayoría agricultores o jornaleros) y 388 casas. La antropóloga colombiana Nina S. De Friedemann había estado estudiando la comunidad afrocolombiana de San Basilio de Palenque desde 1973 para el Instituto Colombiano de Antropología y Richard Cross se unió a ella para trabajar como antropóloga visual en junio de 1975. Esta imagen ilustra la categoría antropológica de Cross: Perspectiva aérea de Palenque.
Type
image
Format
Photographs
image/jpeg
black-and-white negatives
Extent
35 mm
Identifier
99.01.RCr.N35.B5.103.07A
http://digital-collections.csun.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p17169coll1/id/7298
Subject
Water-supply
Water--Distribution
Women, Black--Colombia--San Basilio del Palenque
Place
San Basilio del Palenque (Colombia)
Relation
99.01.RCr.N35.B5.103.07A.tif
Richard Cross Photographs
California State University Northridge. University Library. Special Collections & Archives. Tom & Ethel Bradley Center

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