Riobaldo, messenger's road, and horses: shared poetry and mediumistic writing in Grande sertão: veredas

Abstract

In his uninterrupted narrative, seemingly oblivious to the most basic physiological needs, Riobaldo repeatedly invokes the word “horse” and its derivatives (horsemen, cavalry, etc.), while, according to Houaiss (2001), the etymology of “vereda” (“bridle path” or “earthy road”) points to a “messenger’s road” – an instrument of transportation and communication. If Rosa, as cited by Campos (2006), describes his work as an “ecumenical omelet”, it is worth noting that, in the lexicon of Umbanda, a “horse” (cavalo) is the medium who serves as the vessel for discarnate messenger spirits. Could Quelemém, Riobaldo's Kardecist compadre, therefore be the friendly horse-medium who hosts Riobaldo (“my Quelemém”) in a state of mediumistic incorporation, giving voice to a posthumous psychographic narrative?