Popular Traditions in Ceará or an Attempt to Erase Indigenous Cultural Dynamics?

Resumen

This study conducts a documentary analysis of the cultural and ontological dynamics of Indigenous peoples in Ceará during the colonial period. The research seeks to understand how, under the influence of colonial power—particularly through the actions of the Jesuits and the Portuguese Empire—these dynamics were transformed, leading to the development of expressions now known as popular traditions of Ceará. As an example, we will examine cultural manifestations linked to Catholicism. One of the central aims of this work is to problematize the concept of syncretism and to propose, as an alternative, the concept of systemic ontological permutation. This concept seeks to highlight the complex cultural and spiritual transformations that took place within Indigenous settlements during the colonial period, often carried out through violence, and to emphasize the ways in which original practices were re-signified and resisted the imposition of colonial religious and state structures.