The Muddle in the Streets of Belém: The “End” of Black Religious Festivals Through the Practices of Curtailment by the Church and the State (1888 – 1910)

Abstract

The present work consists of an investigation of the multiple meanings of festive manifestations of religious orientation that sometimes mask and sometimes show the resistance or agency of an African descendant population in the city of Belém do Pará, between the years 1888 and 1910. Among religions masses, marches, fireworks and the severity of justice, the implications of class and race show their face within marginalizing processes, such as the ideological whitening of the Brazilian population in the post-emancipation period, and restrictive ones, such as the violent actions of the police in repressing the behavior of subaltern ranks society. In this logic, we seek to understand how the tensions between the agents involved in this field full of disputes culminated in various forms of representations in religious and non-religious festive events.