Terreiro-escola na cidade de Manaus: processos afro-educacionais no Recanto de Preta Mina Ilê de Iansã

Abstract

This dissertation analyses the afro-educational processes that take shape through artistic practices in the initiation rituals of Omolokô, an Afro-Brazilian cult of Angolan origin, at the Recanto de Preta Mina Ilê de Iansã, a terreiro that has been preserving Black culture for over five decades by passing on knowledge rooted in Bantu and Yoruba traditions in the city of Manaus. The study brings together critical historiographical research on the process of modernisation during the so-called Belle Époque (1890–1920) in Manaus, aiming to understand, in the present day, the ethnic-racial relations in the formation of urban space and the consolidation of Afro-religious cults in the Amazon. Through ethnographic research, combined with written accounts and narratives from individuals initiated into Omolokô, the study describes educational practices experienced during the ritual of initiation into the orixás at the Ilê Axé known as Muzenza. In light of the theoretical and methodological frameworks of Pretagogies, Pedagogingas and Pedagogies of Circularity, this study proposes the construction of the concept of ‘chãos de terreiro’ to designate modes of teaching and learning that take place through song, dance, oral tradition and the production of sacred vestments. The systematisation of “chãos de terreiro” underpins the analytical category “terreiro-school”, understood in this work as an expression of Afro-referenced, artistic and transdisciplinary education in the urban space. These principles can contribute to the strengthening and effective implementation of Law 10.639/2003, a landmark in Brazilian education, as amended by Law No. 11.645/2008, which made it compulsory to include the subject “Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous History and Culture” in the official curriculum of the national basic education system, particularly in the teaching of Art, Literature and History.