A profound, soul-deep melancholy and longing for one's homeland, especially used in Brazil to describe the grief of enslaved Africans torn from their native lands. A sorrow that echoes through generations.
From Kimbundu 'mbanza,' originally meaning 'village' or 'community.' In Brazil, the word evolved to encompass the devastating homesickness experienced by enslaved Africans who had been violently separated from their communities. It became a way to name an otherwise unspeakable grief — the loss of everything familiar and beloved.
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