“…Adopted also in a broader sense of collective cleaning of the sacred space, the Washing of Valongo Wharf has been considered "redenção, purificação e também alegria para nossos ancestrais" [redemption, purification and also joy for our ancestors], in the words of yalorixá Mãe Edelzuita de Oxaguian, priestess of Candomblé, also called mãe de santo (mother of saint) (apud Carneiro and Pinheiro 2015, 301). This event, held once a year, is attended by yalorixás, mães de santo, representatives of candomblé, and of different sectors of the so-called black movement in Rio, who, dressed in celebration costumes, carrying flowers in their hands and scented water, dance to the sound of the musical instruments (atabaques, drums and agogôs) on the stones of the Wharf (Carneiro and Pinheiro 2015).…”