Rosa

Originally from the Cassange nation, Rosa was enslaved to Brigadier Jacinto Pinto Teixeira and his wife, Maria do Carmo Pinto Teixeira, who lived in Sabará, Minas Gerais. In 1856, together with Peregrina, Luísa, Tecla, Balbina, Quitéria and Jesuína, all also enslaved women, Rosa murdered Maria do Carmo with axe and pestle blows. In court, the accused alleged mistreatment as the motivation of the crime. Rosa and Peregrina were sentenced to death and hanged in the catacombs of the Igreja do Carmo. Their hanging, however, gave rise to a legend in the city. It was said that moans and protests of innocence could be heard at the site of the gallows on certain occasions. Rosa came to be considered a saint by the enslaved population of Sabará, who ascribed healing miracles to her.