“TU QUE CHEGASTES PELAS ÁGUAS DO MAR”: religiosidade e práticas votivas no festejo de São José de Ribamar – MA

Abstract

This dissertation focuses on the Festival of São José de Ribamar, a cultural and religious manifestation held around for 200 years in São José de Ribamar, Maranhão. The festival was devoted to the patron saint and had devotional manifestations that extended beyond municipal and state boundaries because of its secular tradition, which is intertwined with the city's emergence. The festival underwent significant changes during its structuring process and became the central event of the city’s calendar and the most significant cultural and religious manifestation. Considering the importance of these celebrations for the history and culture of the city of São José de Ribamar, the research aimed to analyze how the celebration was constructed over time. Among the analyzed aspects, its mnemonic experience, representativeness before the collective, and factors that made its perpetuity possible despite transformations stand out. Given the questions raised by it, the perspectives for its analysis were opened by an intermediate path between two fields of History: Cultural and Social. Roger Chartier's theoretical framework, which is backed by the concept of representation, contributed to an interpretative journey. According to the author, representations are infused with struggles for power and domination, which reflect social interests, impositions, and resistance. The research employs qualitative approach, using methods such as bibliographical, documentary and Oral History research, including interviews with residents, pilgrims and pilgrims to analyze their experiences with devotion.