“FOLIA DE REIS” IN MINAS GERAIS AS RELIGIOUS RITUAL, POPULAR PARTY AND IMMATERIAL HERITAGE

Abstract

This article is the result of a systematic study based in methodologies, techniques and research strategies of History and Social Anthropology. It starts with the documentary mobilization and everyday experience among a group of revelers who practice the Folia de Reis by Carlos Chagas (MG). The objective was to analyze the motivational nucleus present in the performance of revelers. The mythical narrative embodied in the “passadas” during the “mythical experience” (mitopráxis), the “Festa da Folia” stood out. From there it was possible to analyze the symbolic elements linked to biblical events related to the birth of the baby Jesus. Such elements appeared in the revelers' performances during the Folia ritual. This ritual recalls biblical passages and also promotes benefits, benefits and devotions to the Saint. The Folia de Reis, in addition to a religious festival, an intangible heritage, is also a type of ritual linked to the cosmology of the Catholic religious system practiced in the region studied for over a century.