O teatro de Deus: a construção do espaço sagrado de juazeiro a partir de narrativas femininas (Ceará, 1889-1898)

In this work, we discuss the construction of Juazeiro in the state of Ceará -, as a sacred space from the analysis of the testimonies of nine religious women called beatas in an Episcopal process in the late nineteenth century. This process was initiated in 1891 to investigate the occurrence of an Eucharistic miracle with beata Maria Magdalena do Espírito Santo de Araújo. We show that the punitive strategies of the Diocese eventually caused a reordering of pilgrimages to Juazeiro which until 1894 worshipped the Precious Blood and that after the condemnation of the phenomena by the Holy See are rearranged around the figure of Father Cicero Romão Batista, under the pretext of worshipping the priest himself and also Nossa Senhora das Dores, currently the patron saint of the city of Juazeiro do Norte.

(Santa) Rita de Cássia na boca do povo de Santa Cruz/RN: identidades culturais em construção

The purpose of this study is to investigate the cultural identities of Santa Rita de Cassia constructed from the representations contained in the speech of Santa Cruz urban area residents, which is located in a harsh part of the State of Rio Grande do Norte. These residents make the story of the Saint full of meaning for themselves, in their daily lives, as well as to the society. This is observed in the narration of Rita de Cassia’s story which has been told in the city over the past one hundred and eighty years, the number of women's names and commercial establishments named “Santa Rita”. In 2010, with the inauguration of the Alto de Santa Rita – a space for worshiping the saint –, the amount of visitors increased in the city, due to the construction and inauguration of a colossal monument representing the image of Rita de Cassia. Then, new social, cultural, religious and political aspects became part of the local reality of the city of Santa Cruz, what made residents have something in common to talk about. According to the interdisciplinary approach of Applied Linguistics, our theoretical background is based on the socio-historical language concept, which understands language as discursive practice. Still theoretically speaking, this study establishes an interface with cultural studies, taking into account the concept of cultural identity in post-modernity society. Discourse analysis proved plural, with a multiplicity of cultural identities ranging from very obedient daughter to wife who suffered because of the husband, from very religious woman to the widow who entered the convent, on to the Saint of the miracles and healings interceding in the lives of the ones who seek for help. It was also observed in the above mentioned investigative path that these identities can be constructed and reconstructed if immersed in a different set of social practices historically determined