Banca de DEFESA: CLEIDIANE DE ARAUJO OLIVEIRA

For a metamorphosis of pain into hopes: devotion to the Three Little Burnt Angels of São Vicente/RN 20th-21st century

História dos sertões; non-canonical Catholicism; devotion, miracle workers; little angels

This work focuses on understanding the surroundings and dynamics of a devotion to three miracle-working siblings in the Sertão of of the Seridó region. The fundamental narrative for the emergence of this devotion is anchored in a tragedy that killed three poor siblings around 1912. Starting from the understanding and care dedicated to children who died in the Sertão and the dimension of the tragedy, the story of the Three Little Burnt Angels started receiving special attention that expanded and spanned the 20th century to contemporary times. Although we do not have defining time frames for when people began to ask for and receive graces, we know that at least four generations already visited and asked for their intercession. Analyzing the ramifications of this story, the aim is to understand how devotion and memories that stem from a tragedy that killed three children are intertwined with specific experiences in this region. This study approaches the field of non-canonical Catholicism and has the concepts of miracle worker and sublimation as fundamental to understanding what occurs in the devotion to the Little Burnt Angels. Added to this, the concept of memory is included in this discussion, supporting the investigation of the narrative surrounding miracle workers and the mechanisms that keep this devotion alive. In addition, the conception of representation contributes to a perception of the elaborations that feed from and build landscapes around devotion. And throughout the research, concepts of Sertões are used, a territory associated with the colonizing process, but that over time and interests took on new meanings. For this work, it was necessary to use Oral History, the analysis of the painting located on the side of a chapel and the photographs resulting from this investigation, besides the inventory of offerings found in the place of devotion.