Resumo:
This research explores the soundscapes of the Umbanda terreiro of Mãe Maria Pequena de
Ogum, located in Feira de Santana, Bahia, examining the intersections of race, gender,
spirituality, and cosmoperception within the context of African-derived religions. The study aims
to understand the terreiro’s sonic universe through the life trajectory of Mãe Maria Pequena de
Ogum, whose experiences are profoundly shaped by dialogues and exchanges with leaders from
Angola and Ketu candomblé traditions. These interactions have significantly contributed to the
Africanization of ritual practices and the redefinition of daily life. Grounded in Ethnomusicology,
this research engages with fields that challenge Western canons, including Brazilian, feminist,
Black, and African ethnomusicological perspectives, recognizing these epistemologies as crucial
for understanding sonic practices in Afro-diasporic contexts. The methodological approach
combines escrevivência, transgenerationality, and autoethnography, incorporating conversations
and interviews with terreiro members as well as audiovisual recordings. The investigation into the
terreiro’s sonic repertoire and festive calendar reveals a profound connection between these
sounds and African, Afro-diasporic, and Indigenous cosmoperceptions, articulating plural
memories, identities, and senses of belonging. The study highlights how sonorities play a central
pedagogical role in the transmission of knowledge and communication between Mãe Maria, her
children, and the broader community—a dynamic I define as the "pedagogy of sonorities." This
pedagogy serves as a means to transmit cultural knowledge and practices, preserving, updating,
and reconfiguring African legacies in dialogue with contemporary dynamics. In this context, I
introduce the concept of cosmosonority, which represents the convergence of spirituality,
ancestry, and sound, intertwining cosmoperceptive dimensions with the sonic expressions
inherent to Afro-Brazilian traditions. Furthermore, I emphasize the pivotal leadership of Mãe
Maria Pequena de Ogum in preserving, updating, and re-creating cultural and spiritual practices.
Her strength challenges structural racism and patriarchy, reconfiguring narratives of resistance
and self-determination. This research contributes to the appreciation of Afro-diasporic
cosmoperceptions, offering a critical reflection on how Mãe Maria’s trajectory, informed by her
engagements with Angola and Ketu candomblé leaders, is rooted in female protagonism. This
protagonism sustains and reimagines African, Afro-Brazilian, and Indigenous cultural heritages
through perceptible confluences in the sensitive universe of care and healing practices, with sonic
expressions as a distinctive cultural heritage. By intertwining sonorities and spirituality, this thesis
reveals how terreiros function as spaces of resistance, highlighting the richness of Afro-Brazilian
traditions and their role in constructing autonomous practices and advocating for alternative
societal projects.