Voices of the Magi: Enchanted Journeys in Southeast Brazil

by Reily, Suzel Ana

• ISBN13: 9780226709413
• ISBN10: 0226709418
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

Voices of the Magiexplores the popular Catholic musical ensembles of southeastern Brazil known asfolias de reis(companies of kings). Composed predominantly of low-income workers, the folias reenact the journey of the Wise Men to Bethlehem and back to the Orient, as they roam from house to house, singing to bless the families they visit in exchange for food and money. These gifts, in turn, are used to prepare a festival on Kings' Day, January 6, to which all who contributed are invited. Focusing on urban folias, Suzel Ana Reily shows how participants use the ritual journeys and musical performances of the folias to create sacred spheres distinct from, yet intimately related to, their everyday world. Reily calls this practice "enchantment" and argues that it allows the folia communities to temporarily make the social ideals of mutual reciprocity and equality embodied in their religious beliefs a reality. The contrast between their ritual experiences and the daily lives of these impoverished workers, in turn, reinforces the religious convictions of these devotees of the music of the Magi.

Author Biography

Suzel Ana Reily is a senior lecturer in ethnomusicology and anthropology at Queen's University Belfast.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Key to Musical Transcriptions	xix
Preparations	1	(26)
Folias	27	(36)
Banners	63	(25)
Rehearsals	88	(34)
Departures	122	(21)
Adorations	143	(23)
Visitations	166	(24)
Arrivals	190	(20)
Visions	210	(13)
Appendix: Musical Examples	223	(8)
Notes	231	(12)
Glossary	243	(6)
Bibliography	249	(10)
Index	259