Salve Bárbara! Caminhos de uma festa popular na Cidade da Bahia

Abstract

This doctoral dissertation investigates the trajectory of the Saint Barbara festival in Salvador, Bahia with the goal of understanding the phases that the festival went through and which resulted in the popular religious festival that it is known for being today, as well as the factors responsible for its continuity. To this end, this text reviews previously published literature, archival research of official documents and periodicals, and ethnography, which led to the study of the festival divided into three periods: its invisibility, followed by its inconsistency, and finally, its ascension as a fixture on the popular festival circuit. The analysis also extended to two spaces in the Bahian capital that help to keep devotion to the virgin martyr alive and concluded with some considerations about the future of the festival in question. In addition to seeking to fill the gaps in research on the Saint Barbara festival, the importance of this dissertation is to contribute to greater reflection around the other celebrations that make up the calendar of popular festivals in Bahia, highlighting the various aspects involved in this type of celebration.