Maria Pequena de Ogum de Ronda: cosmosonoridades afrodiaspóricas e protagonismo feminino na umbanda (Feira de Santana – BA)

Abstract

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.