Healing and Defence of/from Colonial Wounds Axé as Vital Force and Decolonisation in Lived Experience

Abstract

From a decolonial and feminist perspective, this article examines Axé as a vital force that permeates language, desire, and, in philosophical terms, the formation of the subject. Drawing upon the contributions of authors such as Lydia Cabrera, Muniz Sodré, Renato Noguera, among others, the essay emphasises the central role of Axé in the construction of an existential joy as a response to structures of oppression. Axé is analysed through two principal lenses. First, Axé supports, embraces, invigorates and heals those who suffer the daily violences of colonialism, such as sexism and racism. These theoretical analyses are key to understanding the dynamics of dehumanisation imposed by the experience of colonial wounds, as well as processes of identification and reparation. Secondly, Axé is approached in its cosmological complexity, highlighting its symbolic richness and profound meaning. It is conceived as the zeal of the vital force intrinsic to the powers of nature and the pantheon of the Orixás, transcending the social sphere to reaffirm its spiritual and cultural dimension, and representing the historical resistance of Afro-diasporic Yoruba-Nagô cultures. Acknowledging the importance of artistic expression in this context, the essay engages with aesthetic practices that materialise Axé as vitality and resistance. I conclude by interweaving languages, presenting the work of visual artists as well as personal lived experience involving the performance of Banhos (ritual baths), demonstrating how Axé manifests in diverse forms of healing, transformation, and the reoxygenation of social relations. This affirms Axé as a radical vitality in its different forms of resistance and ethical-cultural renewal.