“VIRAR PRA MATA DE CODÓ”: Uma etnografia sobre composição e movimento no Terecô

Abstract

This work is an ethnography of composition and movement in an African religion, the terecô of Codó (Maranhão). Based on an emic category called virada, the thesis analyzes issues related to ontology, interaction and alterity with the people and the enchanted ones who make terecô. The discussions emerge from living with terecozeiros from six tents located in the city of Codó: the Tenda Espírita de Umbanda Santa Helena, of the mother of saint Luizinha; the Tenda Espírita de Umbanda São Cipriano, of the father of saint Café; the Tenda Espírita de Umbanda São Domingos, of the father of saint Raimundinho Pombo Roxo; the Tenda Espírita de Umbanda Nossa Senhora da Conceição, owned by the saint's mother Terezinha; the Casa de Xangô e Oxalá, owned by the saint's mother Beata; and the Tenda São Francisco e São Sebastião, owned by the saint's father Antônio Filho. In the relationship with these spaces, the research emphasizes the ways in which beings are constituted from particular histories and trajectories, as well as through experiences of crossing. In this way, it suggests that just as relationships are not given, neither are beings. Based on the currents, routes of force through which the terecozeiros carry out spiritual work, the thesis demonstrates how different elements (animals, plants, places, objects and beings) are thought of in connection. The currents also give rise to constant variations by means of turns, a movement that alters the enchanted's mode of presence and force. The know-how present in terecô highlights the interactions that this religious practice has with other religions of African origin, thus indicating a non-monolithic pragmatics. The proposal is to think about beings, relationships, knowledge and practices guided by a world perspective based on the experience of the turning point.