From Fanatics to Folk : Brazilian Millenarianism and Popular Culture

Complicates conventional understandings of millenarianism by blurring the divides erected around specific movements, analyzes why religion is often erased from discussions of Brazilian millenarianism, and considers how religion and politics are entwined i From Fanatics to Folk rejects conventional understandings of Brazilian millenarianism as exceptional and self-defeating. Considering millenarianism over the long sweep of Brazilian history, Patricia R. Pessar shows it to have been both dominant discourse and popular culture—at different times the inspiration for colonial conquest, for backlanders’ resistance to a modernizing church and state, and for the nostalgic appropriation by today’s elites in pursuit of “traditional” folklore and “authentic” expressions of faith. Pessar focuses on Santa Brígida, a Northeast Brazilian millenarian movement begun in the 1930s. She examines the movement from its founding by Pedro Batista—initially disparaged as a charlatan by the backland elite and later celebrated as a modernizer, patriot, and benefactor—through the contemporary struggles of its followers to maintain their transgressive religious beliefs in the face of increased attention from politicians, clergy, journalists, filmmakers, researchers, and museum curators. Pessar combines cultural history spanning the colonial period to the present; comparative case studies of the Canudos, Contestado, Juazeiro, and Santa Brígida movements; and three decades of ethnographic research in the Brazilian Northeast. Highlighting the involvement of a broad range of individuals and institutions, the cross-fertilization between movements, contestation and accommodation vis-à-vis the church and state, and matters of spirituality and faith, From Fanatics to Folk reveals Brazilian millenarianism as long-enduring and constantly in flux. The World Turned Upside Down : The Origins Of The Canudos, Contestado, And Juazeiro Movements -- The Povo Make A Saint -- The Coronel And The Beato -- Work Like You're Going To Live Forever, Pray Like You're Going To Die Today -- Pedro Batista Moves On And The King Attempts To Claim The Throne -- A Romaria Se Acabou/the Romaria Is Over -- Constituting The Romeiros Into Traditional Folk. Patricia R. Pessar. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [251]-261) And Index. In rejecting conventional understandings of Brazilian millenarianism, Pessar argues that it was both a dominant discourse and popular culture. Her focus is on the cult of Santa Brigida, a northeast based movement begun in the 1930s