Performance e religiosidade : ritmo, canto e poesia oral nos rituais de batuque e umbanda em Caxias do Sul/RS

Abstract

This dissertation approaches the poetic an musical practice in the Afro-Brazilian religiosities practiced in the city of Caxias do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Umbanda and Batuque, from the perspective of the performance and vocality, theory based especially on Paul Zumthor (1915 - 1995). For the elaboration of this dissertation two methodological processes were used, initially a bibliographical research to observe questions related to the social formation of the studied region, formation of the Brazilian religions with African roots and the conceptual base on oral poetry. The second methodological process was an ethnography, developed in a Afro-Brazilian religion house of Caxias do Sul, called Ilê Axé de Ogun Onire, for two years. This research had an unprecedented investigative character, as far as we know there is a few researches on religion that studies oral poetry and, at the same time, performance research according to Zumthor (1997) does not refers to the Afro-Brazilian religions practiced in Rio Grande do Sul. Another important objective of this work were to observe ritualistic practices from the perspective of cultural region, since religions as social practices have important peculiarities to be observed according to the context in which they happened, and also to observe the musical practices as regional marks, also in the region of Caxias do Sul. At the end of the research process it was possible to see the constant presence, and especially the importance, of the voice, the rhythm and the melody in the oral poetry of religious rituals with African roots in Caxias do Sul. Oral poetry, as a significant monument of the sociocultural practices of a group is an expression of resistance, ancestry, culture, identity and expressivity of Afro-Brazilian religions.