{"id":1412,"date":"2015-11-24T03:09:43","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T09:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/?p=1412"},"modified":"2022-02-10T10:49:37","modified_gmt":"2022-02-10T16:49:37","slug":"festo-do-divino-and-dia-do-sao-goncalo-marie-caixeira-of-pindare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.meredithwwatts.com\/MWBrazilBlog\/?p=1412","title":{"rendered":"Festo do Divino and Dia do S\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alo: Marie Caixeira of Pindar\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>November 2015, Pindar\u00e9 (Maranh\u00e3o, Brazil):\u00a0 <\/strong>\n

The Festo Divino and Festa do Sao Gon\u00e7alo<\/strong> were held in the small city in the Baixade lowlands Pindar\u00e9 (Maranhao). In the course of the three-day celebration the\u00a0 caixeiras<\/em> (women drummers) of \u201cMaria Caixeira\u201d acompanied and played a key role in the celebration.\u00a0 Both festas<\/em> are a hybrid of Portuguese and African-Brazilian spiritual practice.\u00a0 They exist as \u201cpopular Catholicism\u201d outside the institutional sanction of the official Church.\u00a0 Worshipers are likely to have roots in other practices of African-Brazilian origin, a hybrid that makes it difficult to directly translate the festas<\/em> into practices known elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Maria Caxeira<\/em> is not only the leader of the group of women drummers\/singers \u2014 she is also a charismatic community and spiritual leader.\u00a0 Her name is not her birth name, of course, but carries her deep identity with her practice and community role.<\/p>\n

When looking for the place of celebration, we only had to ask anyone in the neighborhood for the house of Maria Caxeira.\u00a0 Even taxi drivers (or young men on mototaxis) would know, more or less, where to find her.\u00a0\u00a0 We have found many times in Maranh\u00e3o\u2019s popular culture that leading figures are known by\u00a0 names and nicknames that signify their cultural role and identity.\u00a0 Often it takes some digging to find their legal names, but everyone known where to find them by their \u201ccultural names.\u201d<\/p>\n

This part of the trip involved a stay in Pindar\u00e9, a small city in the interior of Maranh\u00e3o on the river of the same name.<\/p>\n

As the photo below shows, fishing and cattle are the foundation of the economy.<\/p>\n

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Pindar\u00e9 has two major forms of subsistence, both shown here. Along the Pindar\u00e9 River there are extensive cattle ranches (fazendas). In this area along the river, many (if not most) of the people live from fishing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The celebrations were held in a building that served as a church for ceremonies and events. This is the road outside.\u00a0 Cattle roam free just a few yards to the right and graze in the field next door.\u00a0 During the celebrations there was a ritual sense of cleaning and purifying the space for the Festa do Divin<\/em>o procession to occur later in the day this street<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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The caixeiras<\/em> playing and singing inside the church. \u201cMaria Caxiera\u201d at the left is the leader of the group and spiritual head of the celebrations<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The caixeiras<\/em> are a distinctive tradition in Maranh\u00e3o.\u00a0 Those who, like most of us, have little familiarity with these women drummers can get a flavor of their devotion and art in this video.<\/p>\n

There are three main segments \u2014 in the first the group is rehearsing the complicated courtly dance the Festa do S\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alo<\/em>.\u00a0 A male expert in the liturgy and movement is assisting.<\/p>\n

In the second segment the caixeiras<\/em> are in the early stages of preparation for the Festo do Divino<\/em> ceremony.\u00a0 In the background are children sitting on a row of special chairs.\u00a0 Their roles as emperor\/empress and biblical figures is in photos below.<\/p>\n

In the third segment the group led by Maria Caixeira\u00a0is joined by caixeiras<\/em> from a quilombo <\/em>community<\/p>\n

(Note: a quilombos are based historically\u00a0 on communities of escaped or freed slaves, often with indigenous members also.\u00a0 There are hundreds of these communities in Maranh\u00e3o, many of which have official status under Brazilian law.)<\/em><\/p>\n

This video gives a sample of their technique and singing.\u00a0 The caixeiras drum and sing almost constantly for three days, surrounding by the formal events of S\u00e3o Gon\u00e7alo<\/em> and Festa do Divino<\/em> and the less formal group preparation of food. The more dramatic moments are shown in the still photos below.<\/p>\n