Festa da caretagem em Paracatu-MG: patrimônio cultural, africanidades, resistências e identidades culturais

Abstract

This master's research focused on Caretagem, a traditional religious celebration in a community that emerged during the period of slavery, serving as a refuge for enslaved individuals. The celebration takes place in the São Domingos Village in Paracatu, state of Minas Gerais. Caretagem originated during the slavery period, commonly observed in quilombos, and has always been held from the night of June 23rd until the morning of the following day. During this event, men dress as women to play the role of ladies, and the use of masks conceals their identities. Through historiographical research, the study aimed to understand how families in the locality are socially organized and the influences of African traditions passed down by their ancestors. These traditions are still preserved by the Quilombolas, and the research explored how this tradition evolved from being a family memory to becoming the epitome of local culture. The goal was to comprehend the significance attributed to Caretagem by the community, which annually strives to pass down this tradition to future generations. The research aimed to confirm and disseminate how this tradition remains alive in family education, community organization, and cultural activities, analyzing how the identity constructed by this group is maintained. This confirms the understanding of Caretagem as a way to resist the loss of cultural identity to which the enslaved individuals were and are subjected. An exploratory bibliographical research approach was employed, investigating historical and iconographic records available in virtual sources, legislation, and bibliographical sources related to the topic. For the village and its participants, Caretagem serves as a link between the past and the present, with its essence focused on the preservation and perpetuation of an Afro-descendant culture transmitted orally and through dances across generations. The festivity is rooted in the Catholic religion, representing one of the ways to reaffirm the ethnic identity of the locality, constructed and reconstructed through the historical memory of the village residents.