“É tão bom dançar toré com os praiás” : etnicidade e ritual entre os Jiripankó – Alagoas

Abstract

Territorially located in the rural area of the municipality of Pariconha, in the upper Sertão de Alagoas, the history of the Jiripankó indigenous people is permeated by multiple processes of comings and goings, continuities and discontinuities and political, religious and cultural strategies. In addition to a complex religious and ritualistic system, called by the ethnic group the science of tradition, which shapes and builds ethnic identity, which reinforces belonging and establishes principles of social organization. For the Jiripankó, ritualistic events are spaces for establishing a link with the sacred, that is, with the Enchanted beings, who protect and guide them, based on the set of knowledge of their religious tradition. My objective in this ethnography is to discuss how the science of the Jiripankó tradition is involved in sociocultural practices and establishes principles of social organization based on rituals. Then, through the analysis of the Jiripankó rituals of Menino do Rancho and Corridas do Umbu, I will explore the mechanisms and arrangements of the science of tradition in the social organization of the group. To this end, I carried out an ethnographic, qualitative research with participant observation, conducting interviews, ethnophotographic and videographic recording, preparation of a field diary and research in collections and public archives and, still in the methodology, due to the sanitary circumstances due to Covid-19 , I used resources from digital ethnography to produce data, based on communication with the members of the group. As a theoretical-methodological basis, I used the studies and reflections of: Claudia Mura (2013; 2012), Fredrik Barth (2000; 2005; 2011; 2003), João Pacheco de Oliveira (1999; 2004; 2022), José Adelson Lopes Peixoto (2018a; 2018b; 2019; 2020a; 2020b), José Maurício Arruti (1996), Siloé Amorim (2017; 2003) and Yuri Rodrigues (2020). Finally, this research will present how the science of tradition is experienced through rituals and how it is linked to ethnicity, social organization and the construction/strengthening of the group's ethnic identity. Thus, I will present how relationships with enchanted entities are nurtured in ritualistic spaces, ensuring the ethnic continuity of the group.