The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Jones, Gayl. Song for Almeyda and Song for Anninho. Beacon Press, 2022.

Gayl Jones’ first-person narrative Song for Almeyda and Song for Anninho is comprised of two books written in the form of lineated poems. “Song for Almeyda” is written through the lens of Anninho, who is living in a quilombo in the hills, with a group of rebels after the fall of Palmares. “Song for Anninho” is written from the first person point of view of Almeyda, when she is living in captivity after she and Anninho were separated. Set in Brazil, in the late 1600s, the narrative follows the narrators’ attempts to find hope, courage, and community in a society that actively participates in the slave trade.

In “Song for Almeyda” Anninho is welcomed into a small quilombo by Afranio, a healer. The rebel goes by many names and is an active member in the effort to rebuild the sovereign city of Pamares. Afranio does not believe in the hierarchy of freedom, that is still held in the quilombo, and encourages Anninho to continue singing the love songs for his wife, Almeyda. At the quilombo, Anninho meets with Ioio, the scribe. Ioio speaks in broken Portuguese but knows a multitude of African languages. When the Palmaristas join the quilombo, he records their stories in their native tongues. The rebel forces are bolstered by members of the Mundurucus and Tupi tribes, who know that a collaborative effort is stronger to defeat Portuguese colonial rule in Brazil.

In “Song for Anninho”, Almeyda is living in captivity again. The narrator was born into captivity on a plantation and later sold to a shoemaker. When she was working for the cobbler, he beat her while his wife looked on with satisfaction. Later on, the Palmaristas invaded the village and freed those who were enslaved. At Palmares, Almeyda met Anninho for the first time. Unlike Almeyda, Anninho was born free; he came to Palmares of his own volition to join the rebel forces when Ganga Zumba was still the leader. The couple’s romance was set in the free city, and they were able to live together. In 1694, Domingos Jorge Velho, led a Portuguese army into the hills to dismantle the free state. During the battle, the leader, Zumbi, was beheaded and the thousands of Palmaristas were captured or fled. Anninho and Almeyda escaped together and lived as fugitives.

Near the river, Anninho and Almeyda were separated. When the Portuguese soldiers found them, Anninho was saved by a rebel from the quilombo, but Almeyda was captured. A soldier ripped off her seed necklace and cut off her breasts. The witch, Zibatra, found her and staved the bleeding. Throughout “Song for Anninho”, Almeyda has imaginary conversations with her husband and thinks about her grandmother. She continues to find hope by imagining a New Palmares and a world in which the voices of Anninho, Zumbi, and Ganga Zumba are honored and remembered. She hears the birds singing in one voice and reminds herself that she must continue to speak of her life and her love in order to ensure that the legacy of the Palmaristas is preserved for posterity.