Afro-Brazilian religions and audiovisual narratives in Amazonia: research tools

this text discusses the use of audiovisual resources like cinema and video by afro-brazilian religions practioners in two ethnographical contexts of amazonia, namely the urban areas of cururupu and belém. in cururupu, the production of amateur videos commissioned in a local audiovisual store serves as a source of self-recognition and enables the discussion and continuous experience of the rituals. in belém, a documentary film on the cosmovision of tambor de mina, the most widely practiced afro-brazilian religion in the city, was made through a partnership between a father of saint (afro-brazilian religion priest) and a filmmaker using federal government funding. setting out from these ethnographic examples, i explore how audiovisual resources are employed by a religious tradition whose reproduction is based on a centuries-old orality. the text points to the advantages and potential uses of these kinds of audiovisual narratives by anthropologists as a means of access to native cultures.