Washing of the Valongo Wharf, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
The Valongo Wharf Archaeological Site comprises the globally most significant remains of a landing point of enslaved Africans in the Americas. The Washing of the Wharf is a symbolic ritual of cleaning and purification to pay tribute to the spirits of the African ancestors who reached this entry port in captivity. The ritual started shortly after the discovery of the remains in 2011, when the archaeologists invited priestesses of traditional African spiritual communities to visit the site.
About Rio de Janeiro
The city of Rio de Janeiro, shaped by interaction with mountains and sea, lies in the narrow strip of alluvial plain between Guanabara Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Its exceptionally dramatic landscape is punctuated by a series of forested mountains that tower over the city, and cascading down to the coast where the steep cone shapes of Pão de Açúcar, Urca, Cara de Cão and Corcovado frame the wide sweeps of Guanabara Bay