O ensinar e o aprender das Congadas – o Terno do Prego e sua tradição através da História

Abstract

The Rosary Festival, held for 149 years in Catalão (GO), is a ritual that combines tradition, culture and religiosity, becoming a cultural hybrid. This dissertation seeks to understand the relevance of the aesthetic and symbolic elements that are fundamental to the performance of the songs and dances at the Festival. These objects, loaded with traditional knowledge and Africanness, constitute the intangible heritage that keeps this cultural manifestation alive. It is an Afro-Catalan expression with roots in Bantu culture, whose focus is the analysis of its symbolism. Based on the impact of tradition on the construction of ethnicity and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge, the Congadas fight for the valorization of their culture. Living the Festival since 1999 and following its transformations led me to reflect on the role of the Rosary Festival in Catalan sociability, as well as on the reasons why the Terno do Prego is so revered. After joining the Academy, my doubts and reflections about the Terno do Prego – created in the city center and linked to a black family – grew. This terno, which has stood out among the others for almost 70 years, raises questions about its notoriety and how the knowledge associated with it is passed on in a place of culture that seeks to preserve tradition. Although the Festival has transformed over time, the Terno do Prego remains hegemonic. Despite having undergone transformations, these changes reinforce its historic combative power in relation to others. This study reveals how this culture, these practices and policies of ethnicity can be understood, in historical-cultural dynamics imbued with resistance, beliefs, habits and customs, which are essential for the participants and the community in general.