O Cemitério do Peixe e o Jubileu de São Miguel e almas: estudo sobre patrimônio cultural, tradição, sociabilidade, memória e religiosidade no interior de Minas Gerais (1861–tempo presente)

Abstract

This doctoral thesis develops a historical study approaching the social, cultural and religious practices established by devotees and visitors of the Jubilee of São Miguel e Almas in Cemitério do Peixe, from 1861 to the present day. Vilarejo do Cemitério do Peixe is a pilgrimage site, in the North Central region of Minas Gerais, in Serra do Espinhaço Meridional, on Paraúna river, which is part of Conceição do Mato Dentro town. The aim is to understand how social, cultural and religious experiences have been constructed, experienced, transmitted and even silenced by different generations; and to comprehend the way both Cemitério do Peixe and the Jubilee of São Miguel e Almas enable the preservation of culture, traditions, identity and the way of being shared by the population. Therefore, this research is in the field of studies on historical and cultural heritage. Research methods proposed by microhistory and cultural history were adopted, which are perspectives that support the interdisciplinary approach to the cultural, historical and heritage studies. Thus, ethnography, participant observation and oral history were used along with archival research. Interviews, documents, images, folders, reports, maps, news and photographs were collected, deemed as crucial elements to record the place and local population history. Hence we noticed that Cemitério do Peixe plays a role in retaining collective memory, strengthening ties in social relations particularly among local rural communities. Social and cultural practices through the way people relate, pilgrimage, celebrate, feed, socialize and establish closer links are emphasized. Moreover we examine how they develop their religious practices with the experiences of death and dying, through ancestral interaction and devotion, known as Fish Souls.