LACES Seminar: "The religion of the enchanteds as cultural mediators in the north of Tocantins"

Por Sariza Oliveira Caetano Venâncio (Universidade Federal do Norte do Tocantins, Brazil) y Valdeci Pereira Reis

Latin American Ethnography and Caribbean Seminar Series

Historically, the north of Tocantins has had many migrants from neighbouring states such as Pará and Maranhão, especially after Tocantins was established in 1988. In these localities, Afro-Indigenous religions like Terecô, Tambor de Mina, and Pajelança developed, characterized by the significant presence of the enchanteds. In the city of Araguaína, various cultural elements from these neighboring states are evident. Concerning afro-religiousness, we may find entities in Araguaína, such as the enchanteds, which differ from the spirits in Umbanda’s pantheon. Unlike Umbanda spirits, the enchanteds are believed to have transitioned to the spiritual plane without experiencing death. Based on 13 years of ethnographic research conducted at the Tenda Espírita Umbandista Santa Joana d’Arc, I propose that the enchanteds serve as cultural mediators among Afro-Indigenous religions in Araguaína. Their presence, in daily rituals and in the life of the terreiro’s leader, is crucial for understanding Afro-religiousness in this region. Additionally, they help explain how Umbanda was received when it arrived in the mid-1970s, brought by an agent of the Umbanda Federation of Brazil situated in Brasília. However, reports indicate that two individuals were already practicing a different form of Afro-Brazilian religious ritual in the area in the early 1950s.  

This seminar will be held in Portuguese with English-language slides

El Latin American and Caribbean Ethnography Seminar (LACES) es un seminario que ofrece un espacio para que investigadores que hacen trabajo de campo etnográfico en América Latina presenten su trabajo y reciban retroalimentación en un ambiente colaborativo.

Organizan: Jessica Sklair (QMUL), Ainhoa Montoya (ILLA-CSIC & SAS) y Denisse Román Burgos (ILLA-CSIC & University of Aberdeen).