Monk João Maria Grotto in the city of Fraiburgo/SC
A resident of Taquaruçu, now the city of Fraiburgo, on the Santa Catarina plateau, who was a child at the time of the war, reports a scene of bombing:
“The government’s strength also tightened in the end. It had a stronghold, which began to be bombed by cannon, so everyone ran to the church to protect themselves. Soon a cannon shot hit the church, which was crowded with children and women, caught fire, almost all died, this I saw”.
The image of a church crowded with women and children being burned in the redoubt of Taquaruçu is a harsh memory kept by those who witnessed the tragedy. The strength of these memories is associated with strong emotional impacts caused by different images of the war. For a long time there was a kind of public silence about the Contestado War, out of interest of the state governments and the shame and fear of those who lived through this War. From the end of the war until the 1980s, this subject was not the object of public attention, although there was already a large production of military personnel and academics on the subject. Only in the 1980s did the Contestado conflict come to be remembered in different ways by social movements, state agencies and academic researchers. However, a large part of the population descended from the followers of the monk José Maria still has a war memory strongly impacted by the version of the victors and the resentments of the people.
Monk John Mary Grotto
This monument pays tribute to the healer who inspired the Contestado War, the Monk João Maria. The legend tells that João Maria always camped near fountains and that the water was blessed and became miraculous. In front of the cave is the Araucarias Lake, a historical landmark formed at the time of the foundation to supply houses and sawmills. This monument is a tourist point of the city, contributing to keep alive the memory of the War, attracting tourists who pass through the cave to know a little more about the history of the region.
John Mary Grotto; Source: Radio Fraiburgo.
John Mary Grotto; Source: Tripadvisor.
John Mary Grotto; Source: Hotel Fraiburgo.
Araucarias Lake; Source: blog lanofrai.
Reference
MACHADO, Paulo Pinheiro. Guerra, cerco, fome e epidemias: memórias e experiências dos sertanejos do Contestado. Rio de Janeiro, 2011. Disponível em: <https://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2237-101X2011000100178>. Acesso em: 25 nov. 2020.
