Sung Memories as Territory: Re-enchanting Afro-Indigenous Ancestralities in Rio de Janeiro’s Macumbas

reencantamento da ancestralidade afro-indígena nas macumbas do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This article analyzes the presence of Indigenous ancestrality in the pontos cantados (sung devotional chants) of caboclos in the old macumba traditions of Rio de Janeiro, focusing on ten chants dedicated to the caboclo Sete Flechas de Mata Escura. Starting from a critique of the historical erasure of Indigenous peoples and the colonial invention of the figure of the caboclo, the study seeks to understand how these musical manifestations function as forms of memory recovery, territorialization of knowledge, and the re-enchantment of the world. The discussion engages with the works of Ailton Krenak, Graça Graúna, Rita Godet, Eduardo Viveiros de Castro, and Fábio Penna, articulating theoretical foundations with a literary and cosmopoetic analysis of the chants. The article concludes that the pontos cantados of caboclos constitute practices of resistance and reinvention of Indigenous ancestrality, projecting new ways of inhabiting the world amid persistent coloniality.