Círio de Nazaré, festa e patrimônio cultural: de Belém do Pará ao Cohatrac, São Luís do Maranhão

Abstract

Religious festivals shape significant geographies. Some of them, due to all the elements that compose them, mark the landscape of places. This is the case of the Círio de Nazaré Festival, which takes place in the Cohatrac neighborhood, São Luís do Maranhão. This Final Course Project focuses on the festival in question, highlighting, therefore, the devotion to Our Lady of Nazaré, the Círio de Nazaré Festival in Belém-PA and the patrimonialization process that the Círio de São Luís underwent, making it, today, a cultural heritage of the state. Adopting a cultural and qualitative approach, methodologically, we fulfilled three main stages: i. bibliographic review and reflection; ii. attentive experience at the 2024 festival; iii. approaches with the church, devotees and conducting an interview with an ecclesial representative. Thus, we consider that, in light of the Geography of Religion, the Círio de Nazaré Festival can be problematized to the point of clearly visualizing its nuances, which range from devotion, through the experiences of a religious neighborhood, touching on the festive-heritage projections of the city of São Luís and the Metropolitan Region.