The Barquinha: Symbolic Space of a Cosmology in the Making, translated by Robin M. Wright, revised by Matthew Meyer
Issue: Vol 2 No. 3 (2006)
Journal: Fieldwork in Religion
Subject Areas: Religious Studies Linguistics
Abstract:
The purpose of the article is to introduce the symbolic repertoire of the Centro Espírita e Culto de
Oração—‘Casa de Jesus, Fonte de Luz’, popularly known as the Barquinha. The Barquinha was
created in 1945 in Rio Branco (Acre) by Daniel Pereira de Mattos, a native of Maranhão. The ritual
ceremonies, which include the consumption of Daime, imply a relation of European, Afro-
Brazilian, and indigenous religious practices and philosophies. The concept of cosmology in
construction is used to understand the constant and dynamic process of creation and resignification
of religious symbols of this group unto itself.
Author: Wladimyr Sena Araújo