BARÁ, “SENHOR DOS CAMINHOS”: TAKING NEW DIRECTIONS FOR AFRO-BRAZILIAN CULTS IN THE CITY OF PELOTAS (RS)

Abstract

This article rescues a part of my ethnographic material referring to the public presence of religions of African origin in the city of Pelotas, in which it was observed that in different periods a remarkable figure stood out – the orixá Bará. Based on the presence of the orixá Bará, I seek to trace events that mark the transformation in the relationship between public space and Afro-Brazilian religions. In this sense, resuming the different phases related to the orixá Bará in the city, I intend to show how the religious practice emerges in the public scene through controversies, above all, from the sacred practice situated in the ritual, and unfolds in processes of territorialization and recognition.