Abstract

This article examines the discourse on modernity and nostalgia in Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, with a focus on the boi-bumbá festival, a folkloric dramatic dance that tells the story of the death and resurrection of a rancher’s beloved bull. Although most of the population lives in urban areas and engages in wage labor, the region is still popularly imagined as a “place that time forgot”: a natural area largely free of modern human intervention. This paper discusses how the boi-bumbá of Amazonas rose to stratospheric popularity in the context of urbanization, industrialization, political change, and the “greening” of the region. I conclude by suggesting that the boi-bumbá’s rise is not unconnected to these larger demographic, socioeconomic, and political events and demonstrate how it has come to serve as a vehicle for collective memory and nostalgia.

Department(s)

Sociology and Anthropology

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1086/696222

Rights Information

© 2018 by The University of New Mexico.

Keywords

Brazil, Caboclo, Folklore, Manaus, Nostalgia, Urbanization

Publication Date

1-26-2018

Journal Title

Journal of Anthropological Research

Download

Share

COinS