Carnival and Transgression

Ethnocenology and Carnivalization in Dialogue with Mangueira (RJ) and Nazaro (BA)

Abstract

This paper aims to establish a dialogue between carnivalization, as conceptualized by Mikhail Bakhtin (1987), and ethnocenology (VELOSO, 2016) with regard to the traditions observed in Brazilian carnival. Carnivalization is presented here as a force that encompasses a conglomerate of liberating behaviors, amusement, and the creation of imagery, representing an alternative life within life itself. Ethnocenology emerges as an alternative approach for researchers to comprehend the "organized human spectacular practices and behaviors" (Pradier, Manifesto 21-22), as exemplified in carnival celebrations. Thus, connections are established between these ideas and the Nazaro festival (BA) and a parade of the Estação Primeira de Mangueira (RJ). By employing the aforementioned theoretical framework, this paper demonstrates possible interpretations of these traditions, which can also be applied to other festivals, aiming to unveil social, political, and aesthetic understandings embedded within them.