From the hole to the world: secrets, rituals and heritage of an indigenous-quilombo

Abstract

When we question the research processes that do not consider the participation of local actors in what is presented as their cultural references, we are confronted with scenarios in which the culture of silence is imposed. Contrary to this perspective, the action of patrimonial education “From the hole to the world” consisted of conducting participatory processes with the Tiririca dos Crioulos community in the search of their cultural references. Located in the state of Pernambuco (Northeast region of Brazil), Tiririca calls itself an indigenous-quilombo, basing this identity on the basis of its narratives and kinship relations. The action worked on the production of didactic materials composed of a “sonorous document” (double CD), videos and a book which are available in a blog. Relationships were horizontalized in the promotion of intercultural knowledge, recognizing that the course of research is an ongoing negotiation. With this, forms of
knowledge (midwives, prayers, artisans and other persons recognized in the community for their knowledge) were legitimized, others than those necessarily generated in formal teaching and research institutions. The
research relations conducted enabled other spaces of transmission and production of knowledge, in the mediation of educational experiences that cross different generations in the processes of interaction with (and in) territory as a source of research. If from the territory the experiences emerge, consequently, the research processes became a “self-search”, with the (re) valorization of important local characters. This work presents the activities conducted during the first year of the action “From the hole to the world”.