O reggae na “Jamaica brasileira” : cidadania e política a partir de letras musicais

Abstract

The city of St. Louis was seduced by a rhythm that captured the soul of a large population of low income black Maranhao, the reggae. Once nominated Brazilian in Athens, City of Tiles, Island of Love, the capital of Maranhão has given the codename of 'Brazilian Jamaica', in reference to music of the Caribbean that are proliferating in every corner of the island. The Culture from Maranhão - widely recognized by the drum-to-Creole, the bumba-meu-boi, the cacuriá, the Feast of the Divine and terreiros Mine - now, therefore, to be represented by reggae, which came in waves of the cultural industry from the mid-l970. Although disputed by some advocates of "cultural authenticity", the Jamaican roots were adopted by large segments of the population and the Ludovicense black youth, becoming an important element of ethnic identity and leisure. This dissertation investigates mystical characteristics, religious and political inequalities that condemn ethnic and social differences, from the lyrics and music played widely known in the city and showing how the Jeje diaspora overcome problems of construction of identity, to incorporate the reggae as its cultural heritage. The results collected in the ethnographic field research indicate the broad social significance of this heritage, embodied in rituals, in Pan-African colors and recurring images of lion-man who has set propitious scenario for claims of citizenship and political rights. The phenomenon studied provides visibility to the bluff of traditions attributed to a restricted social group dominant in Maranhão and processes of "cleaning" historically experienced by Africans and descendants. To better situate the complex social and symbolic in which the party was conceived and established as language identity, this interpretative bias resubmit the Jamaican rhythm, seeking the roots in Ancient Egypt to the aesthetic use of Dreadlocks and the ancient rite of passage from a Masai people emblematic figure of the lion.