Os festejos religiosos como expressão da identidade e memória coletiva caxiense

Abstract

“The Teaching of History and the Valorization of Intangible Heritage in Caxias (MA): Religious Festivities as an Expression of Identity and Collective Memory” is a research that addresses the relationship between the teaching of history and religious festivities in Caxias, in the state of Maranhão, highlighting their relevance in preserving and celebrating the cultural heritage, memory, and identity of the local community, in the line of research, Historical Knowledge in the School Space. In this sense, this research aims to answer the following question: How can religious festivities collaborate with the teaching-learning process of History, from the perspective of cultural identity, collective memory, and intangible heritage in the city of Caxias (MA)? In order to answer this question, we established the following general objective: To investigate how religious festivities contribute to the teaching of History, considering cultural identity, collective memory, and intangible heritage in Caxias (MA), we consider it necessary, for this purpose: to understand concepts such as cultural heritage, collective memory, and local identity in the context of History teaching; to analyze the approach to religious festivities in the educational context of Caxias; to discuss the relationship between these festivities and the teaching of local History; to characterize traditional religious festivities in Caxias; to develop an Activity Notebook to integrate content about these festivities in the teaching of History. In order to answer the research question, a qualitative research was carried out, through the application of a mixed questionnaire with History teachers from the final years of elementary education in the municipal school system of the city, in the first semester of 2024. The answers obtained with the application of the questionnaire was analyzed in light of the following theoretical bases: Teaching of History and Local History, Intangible Heritage, Collective Memory and Cultural Identity, from the perspective of authors such as Bittencourt (1999), Pollak (1989), Nora (1993), Pelegrini (2005), Macedo (2017), Eagleton (2005), Rusen (2015) and Horta (1999). Based on the research findings, we elaborated as an Educational Product, a notebook of activities on the traditional local religious festivities of the city.