Enredos, cuidados e trabalhos: produção carnavalesca e práticas religiosas no barracão da Mangueira

Abstract

This thesis investigates the complex relationship between samba schools and Afro-Brazilian religions, with the Estação Primeira de Mangueira as the primary ethnographic field. Through an ethnographic immersion in the school's workshop during the carnival productions from 2019 to 2024, the research analyzes how religious practices, especially those of Candomblé, permeate the daily life of carnival production and the symbolic construction of parades. The analysis develops through key concepts emerging from the field, such as plot, work, function, and care, demonstrating how these categories simultaneously operate in the universes of carnival and Candomblé. The concept of energy emerges as a fundamental analytical category, used by the actors themselves to understand and explain the dynamics of carnival-making in its multiple dimensions. The work also addresses the conflictual dimensions of this relationship, exploring the growing presence of evangelical workers in the carnival universe and the symbolic and practical negotiations that arise from this relationship.