Casa das Minas (House of Mines), or Querebentã de Zomadônu, located at 857/857a Rua São Pantaleão, today Rua Senador Costa Rodrigues, in the neighbourhood of Madre de Deus in São Luís, is the oldest Afro-Brazilian religious house in Maranhão and one of the oldest in Brazil.

Because of this, there was a great need for a lighthouse. So the Preguiças [Sloth] lighthouse was built in the village of Mandacaru (MA), located 24 miles (one nautical mile = 1852 metres) north of the port of Tutóia, in a place where the reef extended to up to three miles from the coast.