Máscara de flandres

Drawing by Jacques Arago from 1839

A máscara de flandres was a mask that was used as a torture against slaves in colonial Brazil . It was imposed on slaves as punishment to keep them from eating, drinking and consuming earth . The mask was made of tinplate (Portuguese Folha de flandres ). It was attached to the back of the head with a lock so that only the "owner" of the slaves could open it, and it completely blocked the mouth, but left the nose and eyes free.

Through the voluntary consumption of earth, some slaves became infected with the hookworm Necator americanus and were unable to work due to the disease, which brought economic disadvantages for the “owners” of the slaves. The mask was an attempt to prevent this from happening.

In Brazilian popular belief, Saint Escrava Anastacia is represented with a Máscara de flandres.

Individual evidence

↑ Vilson Pereira dos Santos: Técnicas da tortura: Punições e castigos de escravos no Brasil escravista . In: Centro Científico Conhecer (ed.): Enciclopédia Biosfera . tape 9 , no. 16 , p. 2403 ( org.br [PDF]).
^ Emília Viotti da Costa: Da senzala à colônia . UNESP, 1998, ISBN 978-85-7139-187-1 .
↑ Schuma Schumaher : Dicionário mulheres do Brasil. De 1500 até a atualidade - Biográfico e ilustrado . Zahar, 2000, ISBN 978-85-378-0215-1 . (2nd edition 2001: digitized in academia.edu ).

[1] Vilson Pereira dos Santos: Técnicas da tortura: Punições e castigos de escravos no Brasil escravista . In: Centro Científico Conhecer (ed.): Enciclopédia Biosfera . tape 9 , no. 16 , p. 2403 ( org.br [PDF]).

[2] Emília Viotti da Costa: Da senzala à colônia . UNESP, 1998, ISBN 978-85-7139-187-1 .

[3] Schuma Schumaher : Dicionário mulheres do Brasil. De 1500 até a atualidade - Biográfico e ilustrado . Zahar, 2000, ISBN 978-85-378-0215-1 . (2nd edition 2001: digitized in academia.edu ).