A história de um médium na comunidade Vila Nazaré-Pará

Abstract

The objective of the present study is to present the history of the medium known as Senhor Chicão, within its context in the community of Vila Nazaré, Km 02, BR-153, proximity to the city of São João do Araguaia and region. The methodology of this study is the primary research in the anthropological area, with a qualitative and descriptive approach, collecting reports from the medium Chicão and from his contemporaries local residents, as well as photographic records. This research is justified by the social dimension that religion presents, in the sense of seeking to understand the religious experiences in the countryside, the valorization of the memory of the peasants and the cultural interactions within the scope of local religiosities. Divided into two parts, the study initially addresses the process of community construction, the economic and social context of the southern region of Pará. In the second moment of the research, it discusses the narrator's family trajectory, his personal dilemmas, the process of initiation into mediumship, and the relationships between Catholicism, Spiritism and Afro-Brazilian religions.