This article emphasizes the black cultural experiences inside the religious brotherhoods in Minas Gerais during the XVIII century. These people built their own world linking cultural elements of the Brazilian slavery society to the African values and beliefs. Thefore, they gave a different meaning to their lives besides that to which they were condemnend (to be a slave). This meaning was related to their devotional feasts lived in a context of tense and fraternal sociability.
black brotherhoods; ecclesiastic visitors; religious feasts
