Mulheres na encruzilhada: a médium e a sua Pomba-Gira Cigana

Abstract

The book presents a field research that compares the discourse of female mediums and that of the Pomba-Gira Gypsy, who ar incorporated through the phenomenon of incorporation in an Umbanda terreiro located in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil The objective is to analyze whether affiliation with this entity allows female mediums to translate this belief into resistance against oppressive social powers that await them in their daily lives. Through interviews, access was gained to the narratives of these women—medium and Pomba-Gira Gypsy—and discourse analysis was the tool used to undertake such analyses. Based on a conceptua framework defined by De Certeau, the narratives were analyzed in terms of the redefinitions in their practices and uses of what is imposed in society. The analysis of the interviews revealed how incorporation enables the construction of an identity consistent with th subjective needs of the female mediums, as a tool for social positioning, and as a means to denounce the conditions of oppression in the lives