João Alabá — whose Yoruba name is alàgbà, "head of the Egungun cult" or "venerable person of respect" — was one of the most prestigious babalorixás in Rio de Janeiro, a figure whose importance transcends the boundaries of the sacred to reach the very core of Rio's cultural formation. Born in Nigeria, of Nagô origin, João Alabá arrived in Rio de Janeiro as part of a migratory wave of African religious leaders who sought to establish their communities on Brazilian soil. His trajectory is part of the broader context of the Bahian exodus, a movement that, between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, brought to the then federal capital several spiritual lineages originating in Salvador.
Around 1886, the babalaô Bamboxê Obitikô — born in the Yoruba kingdom of Oyó and a notable figure in African-based traditions — traveled from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro together with Obá Sanyá. This pair founded a terreiro in the Saúde neighborhood, located in the Zona Portuária, precisely on Rua Barão de São Félix. When Bamboxê returned to Bahia to continue his religious work, the responsibility of keeping the house's axé (or àṣẹ, the vital energy and force) alive was handed over to João Alabá, who was a devotee of Omolu, orixá of illness, transformation, and healing.
Image description: This is an image of an urban area seen from above, possibly from a map or an old aerial photograph. The image is in sepia tones, with buildings and streets arranged in a grid pattern. On the left side, there is a series of lower buildings close to the edge of the image. Moving to the right, we find a more densely built-up area with multi-story buildings. In the center, there is a large rectangular structure, possibly a market or a factory, with metal roofs. In the lower right portion, there is an open area with some smaller structures. A red marker indicates a specific point at the center of the image.Local aproximado do Terreiro de João Alabá. Na rua Barão de São Félix 174. Na imagem, logo abaxo, a Central do Brasil.
Located at number 174 Rua Barão de São Félix, the terreiro quickly became a radiating center of African-based traditions in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Its strategic location in the heart of Pequena África — the region of the Zona Portuária so named by samba musician Heitor dos Prazeres, which encompassed the neighborhoods of Saúde, Gamboa, and Santo Cristo — gave it an influence that extended well beyond purely religious boundaries. There, near the terminal of the Central do Brasil railway, port workers, formerly enslaved people, merchants, and important figures of Rio's cultural life converged.
The importance of the terreiro rested not only in its sacred rituals, but in the community structure it brought together. The house functioned as a space of sociability, welcoming, and preservation of ancestral knowledge brought from West Africa. There one would find Tia Ciata — the celebrated Hilária Batista de Almeida, born in Santo Amaro, in the Recôncavo Baiano — who held the position of Iaquequerê (Little Mother), an essential role that provided support to the babalorixá. Other notable spiritual daughters and sons circulated through that sacred space, including Tia Amélia do Aragão, mother of composer Donga, Tia Perciliana, mother of João da Bahiana, as well as Tia Mônica, Tia Bebiana, Tia Carmem, Tia Gracinda, and Tia Sadata.
The house where the terreiro operated no longer exists -- it was demolished for the construction works of the Américo Fontenelle Bus Terminal -- but the symbolism of that place remains alive in the collective memory of terreiro communities as a symbol of resistance and continuity.
