O reisado como manifestação popular em Meruoca: transformações e permanências

Abstract

Reisados, when conceptualized in a broad and general way, are known as Christmas folkloric manifestations. However, there is a diversity of types of this celebration throughout Brazil, which vary from region to region. It is noteworthy that in each location this cultural practice brings striking characteristics of where it is located. In the Brazilian Northeast, the reisados reflect the backcountry ways of life, resulting from their historical processes, which highlight the cowboy, the fight against the rebellious Indian, the conquest of the land, the expansion of cattle ranches, the rudimentary methods of creation and of plantations, the way trade is carried out, the cattle corrals. In Ceará, the narrative is told through dance, music and acting, forming a vibrant ensemble. In Meruoca, a mountain town, located in the North Zone of the State of Ceará, its culture is permeated by religious festivals in honor of Our Lady of Conception and a profusion of cultural meetings, including festivals of reisados, leruá, maculelê, dramatists, square dances, singing and carnival. Furthermore, this work aims to understand the construction of the cultural identity of the reisados, where the charm resides, exploring the secrets of the country hearts, where culture unfolds in life. Therefore, it will approach cultural interactions, the ways in which they have been passed on between generations, their meanings or resignifications, representations and appropriations present in the countless meanings of play, given its artistic character, and expression of local know-how and manifestation of the people's cultural identity, to the extent that individual and collective values are affirmed, as a way of capturing this cultural manifestation. Having Cultural History and Social Anthropology as theoretical bases. Following the methodological path of orality, ethnographic observation and written culture.