Os exus em casa de catiço : etnografia, representações, magia

This dissertation is the result of an ethnographic journey undertaken in three spiritual centers of Umbanda , located in different districts of Natal/RN. The aim of the study was to understand how the representations of exus (spirit category) are established in the studied religious environment. In order to study this, mythical narratives of songs and of people were analyzed. In addition, the incorporated spirit entities, loaded with codes and values, were possible to be read and understood. The present work was developed according to a theoretical and methodological approach that interprets culture as a constant construction process, with representations and significations. The empirical research focuses on the ethnographic observations and the narratives; providing the experimentation of the models of discursive dialogues and polyphony. It was observed that the studied empirical field is marked by the cult of the Jurema which influences the mythical construction of exus . Therefore, this study enabled a reflection on the meeting of notions of two distinct worlds ( Umbanda and Jurema ). This reflection is crucial to the understanding of the position that exus occupy in the local umbandista system

Gênero e relações de poder no Pentecostalismo: estudo comparativo entre a Igreja de Cristo no Brasil e a Comunidade Evangélica Sara Nossa Terra

Based on the empirical comparative study between two churches from Pentecostal guidance - both located in Parnamirim/RN - and supported on a dialogic interaction between my interlocutors and theoretical references, I proposed me to reflect about how this protestant segment represents and articulates questions such as gender and power relationships, and the daily impact of that in their followers life. In other words, this dissertation aims to understand the reason of the asymmetry attributed to male and female, especially in what concerns the distribution of ecclesiastic works and the authority given to male, as well as the implication of this reality in the reconfiguration of morality and religious praxis in daily life of individuals and involved groups. From this perspective, this work was divided in three chapters, in which I investigate the tension/relationship between faith and secularism, for from this question on concessions and/or prohibitions related to the limits and involvement of the followers with the world and with the very Pentecostal ethos arise. I also analyze here aspects concerning to both ecclesiastic hierarchy and power, with the objective of elucidating how it occurs, what kind of criteria and implications they consider as well as about the nature of the religious labor division between men and women and, finally, I try to understand how the conversion/adhesion of members is reflected in the redefinitions of gender and its relationship between the ecclesiastical and domestic spaces. The diligence and energy spent in this work is in the hope that its fruits can corroborate in the expansion of anthropological knowledge which, in this particular case, involves the Brazilian Pentecostal phenomenon

Natureza de mulher, nome de mãe, marca de negra: identidades em trânsito e políticas do corpo na comunidade quilombola de Boa Vista dos Negros

Las políticas de salud destinadas a las mulheres de la comunidad quilombola de Boa Vista son, de manera general, las mismas políticas destinadas al resto de las mujeres de la región rural del Seridó norterriograndense y también las que se corresponden con regiones marginales del Brasil entero. Aquí, el cuerpo femenino es concebido bajo parámetros universalizantes que lo toman como una entidad homogénea y comparable con otros cuerpos femeninos a partir de su traducción en índices, tasas y estadísticas. En este sentido, decimos que son cuerpos desnudos, cuya intervención no considera los rasgos exteriores, aquellos llamados de culturales, como marcadores de identidad. Por otro lado, la noción de Salud de la Mujer Negra propuesta por recientes políticas de Estado a nivel nacional, se muestra inexistente en la comunidad. El cuerpo que se se exalta hoy a partir de los parámetros de reivindicación étnica es un cuerpo negro, pero también bello, jovem e sobre todo, fuerte; donde la noción de salud no penetra. De esta forma, las dos políticas conciben sujetos sociales diferentes. Sin embargo, existe otro espacio, que es el espacio de las prácticas vernáculas, en el que las mujeres experimentan la articulación entre feminilidad y negritud, pero a partir de otros parámetros local e históricamente delineados. Aquí, tanto las trayectorias de las mujeres como las redes de parentesco y cuidado locales se muestran especialmente significativas, ayudando a comprender las concepciones particulares sobre el cuerpo que imaginan y practican las mujeres de esta comunidad, y revelando la importancia de la maternidad como principio ordenador de identidades sociales. Para eso, hemos realizado un trabajo de observación participante, una serie de 30 entrevista com mujeres de Boa Vista y un estudio de las redes de parentesco organizadas alrededor del término mãe. Con esto, demostramos que existe un espacio cargado de significados sobre el cuerpo femenino y la feminilidad que es construido a partir de una interpretación local de la triple condición de mulher, de mãe y de negra