Rinhas de galos no litoral norte paraibano: performances em um esporte interétnico

Abstract

This dissertation is an ethnography about the performance of social actors who participate in cockfights on the north coast of the state of Paraiba, Brazil – a region characterized by historical interethnic contact between indigenous of the ethnic group Potiguara and the non-indigenous population. Along the fieldwork, I realized that the cockfights are a male ritual practice widespread in the region: occurring inside and outside indigenous territory, with the participation of the indigenous and non-indigenous. Therefore, this research is an anthropological exercise of understanding of a limiting situation, which is inserted in hiding and in an ethnic border zone. Accordingly, I do the following question: how is the interaction between indigenous and non-indigenous in an illegal ritual event characterized by the symbolic confrontation and that has non-humans animals like main characters? Order to answer this question, I use the “anthropology of performance” as an epistemological and methodological filter and I analyze these cockfights in order to understand and describe which routines, settings, characters and conflicts are involved in this practice. Considering that the native people perceive the cockfight as a sport in which the cock is an athlete and the humans are its coaches, I support me in this trinomial (sport, athlete and coach) to interpret this activity, or rather, the performances of human and non-human animals. Thus, I intend to present a framework of categories, symbols, brands and verbal and non-verbal signs that create a dynamic pattern of actions belonging to the world of cockfighting - which has its anthropological value expressed in fact of being a ritualized game that involves interethnic contact and a range of knowledge, experience, skills and emotions shared collectively.