Abstract
This Chapter aims to problematize both the strength of queer theory and its possible limits, formulating the following questions: Are we facing another center to periphery theory (that reinscribes the center-periphery division in other colors)? Does the very persistence of the term in English signal a geopolitics of knowledge in which some formulate and others apply theories? Is it possible that a queer political gesture is open to other knowledge or are we trapped inside with a line of thinking that nothing new can be proposed or envisioned? Finally, how do we think queer in the tropics?
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Notes
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Iansã is a female warrior orixá (divinity) associated with the wind, storms, sorcery, and lightning. Iansã, Oxum, Iemanjá, and Oxalá are deities in the pantheons of various Afro-Brazilian religions. (T.N.)
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The Pomba-gira, a spirit worshipped in diverse Candomblé and Umbanda traditions, is a popular figure in Brazil. Its origins are in Candomblé practices, and its worship is composed of interlinking African and European traditions. The Pomba-gira is considered to be a feminine Exu. Exu, in Candomblé traditions of Yoruba origin (including Ketu, Efan, and Pernambuco Nagô) is the orixá who serves as a Messenger between humans and orixás (Prandi 1996, p. 139).
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In this usage, batuqueira refers to a woman who dances to drumming.
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In Afro-Brazilian religions, each initiate has orixás that protect the head and the body. During rituals, these initiates “make their heads,” and care for their orixás.
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A “father-of-a-saint” or “mother-of-a-saint” is the central authority figure within a terreiro, responsible for leading both religious events and other activities. They express the will of the orixá who commands the terreiro. They are also called caretakers, because their task is to care for the saints, the terreiro, and for initiates (the children-of-a-saint).
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Travestis in Santa Maria are inserted in Batuque and Quimbanda traditions. Batuque, in addition to serving as a term used to designate percussive rhythms in general, is also a religion that worships twelve orixás; it is divided into different “sides” or “nations”, and the Nago language serves as its liturgical base (Oro, 2012). Throughout my research, fathers- and mothers-of-saints explained what they recognize as three distinct “sides”: “nation”, Umbanda, and Quimbanda/Crossed Line (Linha Cruzada). See also Corrêa (1992). As Oro (1994, 2002) explains, Batuque venerates orixás exclusively; Umbanda adds caboclos and pretos-velhos (ancestral spirits of African descent); while Linha Cruzada joins together all of these entities along with exus and mythical women spirits like the pomba-giras. As we can see, Afro-Brazilian religions contain numerous possibilities that can be adjusted according to given situations. (Goldman 2009, p. 110) For more on Afro-Brazilian religions in Rio Grande do Sul, see Correa (1994) and Oro (2002, 2008). For more on batuque (drumming) in Rio Grande do Sul, see Braga (1998) and Correa (1992).
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Conner and Sparks (2004) have the merit of being the first authors to point to the relationship between queerness and African tradition in the Americas. Their work includes an examination of Yoruba orixás and the diasporic tradition of these spirits in Brazil.
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Although the ethnographic references in the text, as they relate to religious experiences, are specific to the city of Santa Maria, I also utilize references to Recife’s Xangô tradition, to the nationwide practice of Umbanda, to Candomblé in São Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro, and to Quimbanda in Porto Alegre and Santa Maria. Oro (1994) gives an overview of Afro-Brazilian religions by dividing these religions into three models of ritualistic expression. The first of these is distinguished by worship of the orixás; it privileges mythological, symbolic, linguistic, doctrinal, and ritualistic elements from the Bantu and Nagô traditions. This group includes Candomblé in Bahia, Xangô in Recife, Batuque in Rio Grande do Sul, and Casa de Mina in Maranhão. Candomblé is the Afro-Brazilian religion of big cities in Brazil’s northeastern coast, especially in Salvador and Recife. The denomination “Candomblé” first became generalized in Bahia; in Recife, the designation “Xangô” is more prevalent. (Motta 1995; on Xangô, see Carvalho 1990) The second of these models seems to have emerged from Candomblé, mixing traditions and adapting itself to Brazil’s urban life. This group includes macumba and, depending on regional variations, is also referred to as Quimbanda, Linha Negra, Black Magic (magia negra), Umbanda Cruzada, or Linha Cruzada. The third model is Umbanda, composed of elements of Catholic, African, Indigenous, Kardecist (Spiritist), and Asian religious traditions. In Umbanda, both religious rituals and doctrinal elements vary among different regions and places of worship, according to emphasis that local followers give to Spiritism, Asian, and African practices, among others. José Jorge de Carvalho identifies two styles of religious practice: the traditional, which is linked exclusively to African divinities and features a rigid and complex ritual; and other practices that incorporate diverse entities aside from the orixás, including caboclos, Exus, preto-velhos, and Pomba-giras (Carvalho 1994, p. 88). However, it is important to call attention to the regional specificities of Afro-Brazilian in different parts of the country.
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Such as separating travestis and assigning them to masculine spaces in the rituals. José Jorge de Carvalho, in a personal communication, reminded me that women are forbidden to sacrifice the animals offered to the orixás, and that they are not allowed to touch atabaque drums, as drumming is considered part of the masculine sphere. In Santa Maria, Father Ricardo – when asked about the topic – said that travestis are also men, since they “have penises”, and that, therefore, they may participate in rituals that include animal sacrifice. According to him, “women need a ‘science’ [wisdom] to be able to kill animals. Once they have that ‘science,’ they can do what men do, or else they can find a man to help them”. In other words, a body might be worked through the ritual and, to a certain extent, remove itself from the division of ritual roles based on gender.
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Spirit possession, which plays a central role in Afro-Brazilian religions, is a ritual phenomenon that permits practitioners to bring orun (the world of the orixás) closer to aiê (the human world). During possession, an orixá (or an Exu) “descends”, and carries out performances to the sound of drumming made up of gestures and dance steps executed in time to ritual drumming. This possession brings orun and aiê closer, and also serves to express otherness. Cláudio calls our attention to travestis’ utilization of religion as a form of justifying their sexual and gender identities. According to him, one must always obey religious logic, which demands practices ranging from cowry shell readings, close readings of texts, and initiation rituals, until one’s “head saint” can be attributed. So it may be that the greatest practice of transit among transvestites in Quimbanda is one of justification through the intimate relationship that they establish with Pomba-giras.
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Pereira, P.P.G. (2019). Queer in the Tropics. In: Queer in the Tropics. SpringerBriefs in Sociology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15074-7_3
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