Studies about the processes of identity construction have gained great attention in researches developed in other academic domains, such as psychology, anthropology, social sciences, and psychoanalysis. These studies investigated the relationships between members of a given community and they center their efforts on important themes, as the following: the mechanisms of identity construction, and the organization of the social relations. The present study investigates an extremely current event, which will shed a light on the antagonistic relations related to the processes of identity construction. With the new Constitution of 1988, some black rural communities were forced into a unique legal situation: in order to obtain the benefits prescribed in the Constitution – which affirms that the descendants of ancient Brazilian Maroons (Quilombolas) have the right of ownership of the land that they occupied – the descendants of the Brazilian Maroons must give proof of their Maroon identity. This situation brings up some issues: How to build up an “identity”? What are the consequences of it? Given this situation, this study will focus on a black rural community of Abacatal (PA), which has been identified as a Maroon community since 1999, with the goal of pointing out some harm involved in the processes of identity construction. Twelve community member were interviewed, 5 men and 7 women, with ages between 27 and 68 – year old. All interviewees had been living in the community for at least thirteen years, therefore, all of them experienced the process of acquiring land ownership through the process of establishing a Maroon identity. The results of the study revealed that: a) the identities constructed evoked slave ancestors and also myths of the community creation (the story of the union between and noble man and slaved woman); b) the establishment of a Maroon identity brough benefits for the members of this Brazilian Maroon community; c) there are several, sometimes conflicting, meanings related to the identity of being a Brazilian Maroon, as for instance the meaning of being a black out-law. The conclusion is that, these processes of identity construction, experienced by the members of the community studied, as well as for each one of us, give us the human status and they are, as says Costa (2000), what keep us alive and add pleasure in our lives.
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