Banca de DEFESA: EVERSON MOURA DA SILVA

Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : EVERSON MOURA DA SILVA
DATE: 31/08/2026
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Ambiente virtual (Google Meet)
TITLE:

WHITE CANDLE, MESTIZO HANDS: BAPTISM, SLAVERY, AND SOCIABILITIES IN THE PARISH OF NOSSA SENHORA DA PIEDADE DE CAJAZEIRAS (PROVINCE OF PARAÍBA, 1859–1871)

KEY WORDS:

History of the Sertões; Alto Sertão; Parish of Nossa Senhora da Piedade; Cajazeiras; slavery; mestizaje; godparenthood.

PAGES: 100
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: História
SUMMARY:

This dissertation engages with the debates of the Social History of Slavery in nineteenth- century Brazil, focusing on the lived experiences of enslaved and mixed-race people in the northeastern hinterlands. It seeks to catalogue, analyze, and interpret the baptismal records of the Parish of Nossa Senhora da Piedade (1859–1870), exploring how this first Catholic sacrament helped shape social relations, symbolic ties, and networks of solidarity among enslaved individuals, freedpersons, and other social groups. The research draws on baptismal registers, notarial deeds of sale, purchase, and manumission, post-mortem inventories, and the 1872 Brazilian census, articulated through nominal cross-referencing and historical- demographic methods. The study is grounded in the theoretical perspectives of E. P. Thompson (1981) and Jim Sharpe (1992), embracing a “history from below” approach attentive to everyday life and human experience. It also dialogues with the works of Sidney Chalhoub (1990), Hebe Mattos (2004), Larissa Viana (2007), and João José Reis (1996) to understand the intertwined dynamics of slavery, freedom, and racial mixture. Eduardo França Paiva (2015) offers an essential lens through which the study interprets the vocabulary of mestiçagem and the social meanings of “quality” as categories of naming, belonging, and hierarchy. From this perspective, baptism and godparenthood appear not only as religious rites but also as acts of community building, social negotiation, and symbolic resistance. By shifting the historiography of Cajazeiras away from elite-centered narratives toward one that recognizes the presence, agency, and resilience of enslaved and mixed-race people, this dissertation expands the historical understanding of the Paraíba hinterlands and their role within Brazil’s broader history of slavery, freedom, and faith.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - ANA LUNARA DA SILVA MORAIS - UFCG
Interno - 1040569 - ANTONIO JOSE DE OLIVEIRA
Presidente - 2432663 - HELDER ALEXANDRE MEDEIROS DE MACEDO