Originally published in Brazil as O Diabo e a Terra de Santa Cruz, this translation from the Portuguese analyzes the nature of popular religion and the ways it was transferred to the New World in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Using richly detailed transcripts from Inquisition trials, Mello e Souza reconstructs how Iberian, indigenous, and African beliefs fused to create a syncretic and magical religious culture in Brazil. Focusing on sorcery, the author argues that European traditions of witchcraft combined with practices of Indians and African slaves to form a uniquely Brazilian set of beliefs that became central to the lives of the people in the colony. Her work shows how the Inquisition reinforced the view held in Europe (particularly Portugal) that the colony was a purgatory where those who had sinned were exiled, a place where the Devil had a wide range of opportunities. Her focus on the three centuries of the colonial period, the multiple regions in Brazil, and the Indian, African, and Portuguese traditions of magic, witchcraft, and healing, make the book comprehensive in scope. Stuart Schwartz of Yale University says, "It is arguably the best book of this genre about Latin America...all in all, a wonderful book." Alida Metcalf of Trinity University, San Antonio, says, "This book is a major contribution to the field of Brazilian history...the first serious study of popular religion in colonial Brazil...Mello e Souza is a wonderful writer."

The Devil and the Land of the Holy Cross: Witchcraft, Slavery, and Popular Religion in Colonial Brazil (Llilas Translations from Latin America Series)

History

Souza, Laura de Mello e

Americas

University of Texas Press

Originally published in Brazil as O Diabo e a Terra de Santa Cruz, this translation from the Portuguese analyzes the nature of popular religion and the ways it was transferred to the New World in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Using richly detailed transcripts from Inquisition trials, Mello e Souza reconstructs how Iberian, indigenous, and African beliefs fused to create a syncretic and magical religious culture in Brazil. Focusing on sorcery, the author argues that European traditions of witchcraft combined with practices of Indians and African slaves to form a uniquely Brazilian set of beliefs that became central to the lives of the people in the colony. Her work shows how the Inquisition reinforced the view held in Europe (particularly Portugal) that the colony was a purgatory where those who had sinned were exiled, a place where the Devil had a wide range of opportunities. Her focus on the three centuries of the colonial period, the multiple regions in Brazil, and the Indian, African, and Portuguese traditions of magic, witchcraft, and healing, make the book comprehensive in scope. Stuart Schwartz of Yale University says, "It is arguably the best book of this genre about Latin America...all in all, a wonderful book." Alida Metcalf of Trinity University, San Antonio, says, "This book is a major contribution to the field of Brazilian history...the first serious study of popular religion in colonial Brazil...Mello e Souza is a wonderful writer."

The Devil and the Land of the Holy Cross: Witchcraft, Slavery, and Popular Religion in Colonial Brazil (LLILAS Translations from Latin America Series)

Esta coletânea reúne escritos produzidos entre 1984 e 1998, todos referentes à pesquisa que Laura de Mello e Souza vem desenvolvendo sobre cultura e sociedade em Minas no decorrer do século XVIII. O livro está dividido em três partes. Da primeira, " Documentos", consta um antigo artigo publicado em 1984 e referente às devassas eclesiásticas, ou visitas pastorais depositadas no notável Arquivo Eclesiástico da Arquidiocese de Mariana. A segunda parte da coletânea, "Exercícios de História Social", é uma tentativa de ilustrar que a reflexão mais abrangente sobre os fenômenos sociais deve se apoiar no trabalho empírico, miúdo, detalhado e sempre revelador. A terceira parte, "Leituras", procura dar conta de livros recentes voltados para a história de Minas no século XVIII, que têm ajudado a reinterpretá-la.

Norma e conflito: Aspectos da história de Minas no século XVIII (Humanitas) (Portuguese Edition)

Editora UFMG

O diabo e a Terra de Santa Cruz: Feitiçaria e religiosidade popular no Brasil colonial (Portuguese Edition)

Companhia das Letras

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