O protagonismo feminino: memórias e histórias de vida de mulheres ribeirinhas da comunidade de Aramanaí, Belterra-Pará.

Abstract

The focus of this work is to identify discursive marks that reveal peculiarities of the experience of riverine women of Baixo Tapajós and to verify which are the common points and which are divergent in the corpus analyzed in the light of narratology (Fernandes, 2005, 2013). In order to obtain, in the research field, the analyzed reports, it was necessary to use elements of ethnophotography and ethnography, such as participant observation and the application of semi-open interviews, with the recording of three oral narratives of life stories, in which each interviewee resorted to memory (Benjamin, 1994). The next step was to understand, through analysis based on the oral history method, based on Thompson (1992), the lives of the people interviewed, more specifically, riverside women, whose reports dialogue with the context of production, extratextual elements – social factors –, which caused the revived memory, according to the ideas of Sarlo (2007), during the collection of the report, to provoke emotions, sometimes euphoric, sometimes dysphoric, which revealed historical processes and social values which served as the basis for the construction of riverine female identity. This research sheds light on gender-specific, sociocultural, socioenvironmental, and socioeconomic issues. This study provided an opportunity for dialogue with riverside women, who were able to reminisce about their experiences and reveal how they view the world, the knowledge and wisdom they possess, and how it deserves to transcend geographical barriers through the stories they tell themselves, about themselves, and about the place to which they belong. The research provided insight into important aspects of the interviewees and the Aramanaí community: the construction of individual and collective identity occurred through a family education that shared knowledge and ways of life from generation to generation; the community is self-declared Roman Catholic Christian, devoted to Our Lady of Sorrows, with no other religious denomination having a temple located there; the use of herbs, milks, and oils is common, as is the preparation of teas and "bottled" drinks, in addition to blessings and prayers to prevent and cure illnesses, as well as during pregnancy and childbirth; the relationship with the river and the practices on the banks of the Tapajós remain typical of riverside living.