Lages das Aroeiras: territorialização, parentesco e produção em uma comunidade baiana de fundo de pasto

Abstract

This dissertation consists, essentially, of an ethnographic study on Lages das Aroeiras, a rural community in Bahia´s semi arid northern region. The research had as its objective to understand the evolution of the territorial configuration in this community, where the biological and social reproduction of its inhabitants happens through agriculture in family farms, extracting from the land, and the raising of sheep and goat herds in common areas of pasture. To achieve this understanding, it was of paramount importance to run through Bahia´s history of territorial occupation, dating from the colonial period, as well as become familiar with the characteristics of the peasant society that was born from this agrarian ix structure. Throughout the field study, which occurred between 2007 and 2009, the local kinship system revealed itself as being the main analytical tool for comprehending how the land is settled in the community, its rules of usage and succession.