![\"Researcher](\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/adnane-4-1024x658.jpg\")
\u201cPeople are very proud of their Moroccan and African origins. The population really wants to affirm this identity,\u201d the researcher told ANBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on this observation from his field visit, Adnane intends to describe Mazaganese identity from the perspective of the people of Mazag\u00e3o.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey claim Moroccan ancestry, and that is what interests me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The researcher is expected to return to Amap\u00e1, including Mazag\u00e3o Velho, in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mazag\u00e3o Velho\u2019s historical ties to Morocco date back to Portuguese colonization of the North African country. According to Adnane, Portugal maintained a fortress in Mazag\u00e3o, now known as El Jadida, for two centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was already a population in the region when the Portuguese occupied the site, built structures and enclosed it with walls and fences. But they didn\u2019t stay for just 10 or 20 years\u2014they remained for two centuries. The Portuguese who were born and raised there didn\u2019t even know Portugal. From my point of view, these people were of Portuguese origin, of course, but they were Moroccan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the colonial period, Morocco prevailed in several battles against Portugal, but the Mazag\u00e3o community remained under Moroccan rule. In the 18th<\/sup> century, however, a royal decree forced its residents to leave the country. According to Adnane, Portugal took them first to Lisbon, then to Bel\u00e9m, Brazil\u2019s Par\u00e1 state, and eventually to what is now Mazag\u00e3o Velho. Over the years, many residents left Mazag\u00e3o Velho for the municipal seat or other nearby areas, but the district is still home to people who preserve this historical memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every July, residents of Mazag\u00e3o Velho reenact a battle between Moors and Christians, centered on a soldier known as Saint James, giving the conflict between Moroccans and Portuguese a religious rather than territorial dimension. In the reenactment, the Christians defeat the Moors, a term used to refer to Muslim peoples who ruled the Iberian Peninsula between the eighth and 15th<\/sup> centuries. Mazag\u00e3o Velho was established in 1770, when the community that had lived in Morocco was relocated to Brazil, nearly three centuries after Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to attending the festivities in Mazag\u00e3o Velho, Adnane came across information that prompted him to reflect on and reconsider his research into local identity. These findings included the departure of much of Mazag\u00e3o Velho\u2019s white population to nearby areas, the predominance of Christian religious practices among residents, research indicating African ancestry in the local population\u2019s DNA, the presence of dependents and other accompanying members who arrived with the Portuguese-origin community from Morocco, the portrayal of Saint James, an apostle of Jesus Christ, in the festival, and references to the Crusades and the expulsion of Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula in the reenactment, among other elements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other researchers who took part in the visit to Mazag\u00e3o Velho included John Fletcher, a professor at the Federal University of Par\u00e1 (UFPA), and Denise Dias Barros, a faculty member at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP), who coordinates the Link\u2019Art \u00c1fricas project, in which Adnane and Fletcher also participate. Supported by S\u00e3o Paulo state government’s research foundation (Fapesp), the project brings together researchers to study artistic creation in African contexts from 1980 to the present and includes Mazag\u00e3o Velho in its scope. Adnane, Barros and Fletcher are also involved in an emerging network exploring the themes of deserts and forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adnane is expected to submit the findings of his research to Unifesp in the form of articles or a book by March next year. The professor has an extensive academic background. A member of the Amazigh, a North African people, he learned to read and write in Arabic in his native community. As a young man, he was selected for scholarships awarded to Muslim populations to study in Egypt, where he lived for 10 years. There, Adnane earned a degree in History and Civilization from Al-Azhar University and a master\u2019s degree in Contemporary African History from Cairo University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researcher moved to Brazil in 2012 while still pursuing his master\u2019s degree in Egypt. He also earned a master\u2019s degree in history from the Pontifical Catholic University of S\u00e3o Paulo (PUC-SP), where he later completed a PhD in history. Morocco has been part of the professor\u2019s academic and personal life for many years. His ties to the country include attending festivals there, participating in Amazigh groups, studying regional music and visual arts, and following the work of Moroccan artists during activities in Brazil, among other connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\nStudies in Egypt and Brazil<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n