Fé, magia e milagre: templo cigano Devlesa Avilan (Teresina- Piauí)

Abstract

Each people of humanity has its own history and different ways of perceiving the world, which at times connect with those of other peoples. The Romani people have a strong bond with the land and believe that all elements of nature—such as trees, water, fire, and wind—are sacred and should be treated with respect and reverence. They believe that nature plays an important role in their lives, helping them connect with their roots and their spirituality. The objective of the research in question was to analyze the attributes of body and soul that directly influence the sociocultural relations of traditional peoples, between faith, magic, and miracle; thus, society is assumed as a universal condition of human/non-human life and its explorations among the Romani people, distancing itself from Western ethnocentric theories. Faith, magic, and miracle are based on ancestry and the elements of nature as sources of daily strength. The research site was the Devlesa Avilan temple, which works with Romani philosophy, located in the city of Teresina, Piauí. In order to achieve the study’s objective, ethnography was used as a research method, along with participant observation. In addition, photoethnography was applied with the aim of proposing a construction of visual narrative and symbolic nuances of the cultural/religious manifestations of the Romani people. Bibliographic and documentary materials were also used, as well as semi-structured interviews.It is necessary to listen, reflect, and understand a culture that, like Indigenous and Quilombola cultures, has much to share through daily lived experiences and interdisciplinary perspectives.