The Malê Revolt (also known as The Great Revolt) is perhaps the most significant slave rebellion in Brazil.
On a Sunday during Ramadan in January 1835, in the city of Salvador da Bahia, a small group of black slaves and freed men, inspired by Muslim teachers (Muslims are called malê in Bahia at this time, from Yoruba imale that designates a Yoruba Muslim, which originally meant "a Malian"), and bearing talismans containing texts from the Koran, rise up against the government.
Brazilian slaves know about the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) and wear necklaces bearing the image of President Dessalines, who had declared Haitian independence.
