Bahian white: the dispersion of candomblé imagery in the public sphere of bahia
ABSTRACTFor most of its history, candomble was a marginal and persecuted spirit possession cult. From the 1920s onward, however, the cult evolved into the “trademark” of Bahia, a state in northeastern Brazil. The color white—a spotless and impeccable white—has come to dominate the public face of the cult: evoking positive connotations such as cleanliness and purity, the color helped to portray candomble as the splendid cultural heritage of the Bahian state as well as a respectable African religion. However, the “politics of white” has always been intersected by a “poetics of white,” as Bahian artists, writers, and other image producers sought to destabilize the condoned meanings of white. Hinting at that which is absent from the impeccable surfaces of candomble's public appearance, this “poetics of white” produced a layered public understanding of the cult. As people engage in speculations over the “true” candomble that lies hidden behind its public facade, claims to be “in the know” reconfigure the notio...
Entre a oralidade e a escrita: percepções e usos do discurso etnográfico no candomblé da Bahia.
Nos estudos da religiosidade afro-brasileira tem sido paradigmatica a ideia de que a transmissao do saber nos terreiros de candomble constitui uma tradicao oral. A partir da decada de 80, a possibilidade de que a etnografia exercesse uma influencia sobre essa oralidade tornou-se polemica. Segundo alguns estudiosos, o discurso etnografico provocou uma ?invencao de tradicao? na pratica ritual, enquanto para outros, o povo-de-santo se mantem indiferente as pesquisas ao seu respeito. A presente tese aborda essa questao atraves de entrevistas e observacoes realizadas em diversos terreiros de Salvador, complementadas por um levantamento historico. Os achados mostram que a recepcao da etnografia escrita e visual depende de seu uso. Contemplada como fonte de saber religioso dentro do terreiro, a etnografia e vista como inadequada quando comparada com a aprendizagem tradicional. Sua disseminacao na sociedade externa, entretanto, tende a ser percebida como util na construcao de uma imagem publica mais positiva do candomble. Para alem da questao da etnografia em si, o estudo documenta a existencia, tanto historica quanto contemporânea, de alguns usos da escrita e da fotografia nos terreiros, desde inscricoes e retratos fotograficos que invocam o poder de entidades espirituais; cadernos de fundamento, nos quais se registra determinados aspectos do saber religioso, e, mais recentemente, livros e sites da Internet. Existem diferencas agudas entre os terreiros sobre a veiculacao de alguns destas formas narrativas e visuais; contudo, tendem a ser utilizados de acordo com o quadro epistemologico, o qual se apoia menos na oralidade, stricto senso, do que na experiencia vivenciada e no contato face a face com os mais velhos ao longo do tempo. Compreender tal conjunto de praticas emicas constitui um importante ponto de partida para o entendimento das percepcoes e dos usos do discurso etnografico no candomble da Bahia.%%%%In studies of Afro-Brazilian religion, the idea that the transmission of religious knowledge in candomble terreiros occurs via exclusively oral means has long been paradigmatic. Since the 1980s, however, the possibility that ethnography itself may exert an influence over this ?oral tradition? has come under scrutiny. According to some, ethnographic discourse has precipitated a veritable ?invention of tradition? in ritual practice; others maintain that the povo-de-santo has always been impervious to what academics think and write about them. The present study approaches this question through interviews with candomble initiates and observations in a number of different terreiros in Salvador, as well as archival research on past uses of writing and photography. My findings suggest that the way that ethnography is received in Bahian terreiros depends on how it is used. On the one hand, it is seen as an impoverished alternative to traditional means of acquiring religious knowledge; on the other, its dissemination in society at large is often perceived as useful in constructing a more positive public image of candomble. The…
Old topics, old approaches? ‘Reception’ in television studies and music studies
The question of reception is closely linked to the history and the roots of audience studies. But what is ‘reception’ and what exactly does it mean? As audience studies have developed from a contested novelty to a now established academic field, what do we do with a concept that defined our interests in the past and may now be too wide or even obsolete? This article deals with this issue by mapping how the concept of reception was conceptualized and researched in audience studies of the past ten years, with a focus on studies of music and studies of television. We find that in music, strong focus remains on music reception in the context of performances and events, and this lies in contrast to a small number of studies which instead focus on a framework of music in ordinary life and the audiences’ contextual localities. Concerning reception of television, much of the scholarship starts from the cultural studies tradition and looks at television viewing as a means to construct identities. Discussing these findings, we inquire whether the hybridization of media also implies a hybridization of research traditions and methodologies, and what consequences it has for the balance between textual, production and audience approaches.