Iracema, the honey-lipped virgin: denial and affirmation of indigeneity in contemporary Ceará

Authors

  • Joceny de Deus Pinheiro Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-brasileira, Redenção e Acarape, Ceará

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2525-3123.gis.2016.116353

Keywords:

Iracema, indigenousness, indigenous identification, mestiçagem

Abstract

This article explores the romantic image of Iracema – a literary figure created by Ceará-born writer José de Alencar. The best-known character from José de Alencar’s literary output, Iracema is examined here as a symbol of Cearense-ness and indigenousness evoked in everyday discursive representations both to deny and to affirm contemporary processes of indigenous identification. Ethnographic examples drawn from research carried out with indigenous leaders of several peoples in Ceará (Pitaguary, Tapeba, Tremembé, Jenipapo-Kanindé and Potyguara) reveal that while the image of Iracema is commonly used to de-authorise those who claim specific ethnic-racial identities, it is also appropriated by these people to affirm their indigenousness.

Translation: David Rogers

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Joceny de Deus Pinheiro, Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-brasileira, Redenção e Acarape, Ceará
    Joceny Pinheiro has a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences (1998) and a Master's degree in Sociology (2002) from the Universidade Federal do Ceará, as well as a Master's degree in Visual Anthropology (2003) and a PhD in Social Anthropology with Visual Media (2009) from the University of Manchester, UK. With a research focus on indigenous peoples, Pinheiro developed interest for the subject of struggles for access to land; community leaders, state action and public policies; as well as processes of ethnic and racial identification. In conjunction with the text, Pinheiro explores the possibilities of knowing through the production of image and sound in Anthropology. She worked as a lecturer in Social Sciences at the Universidade Federal do Ceará (2001-2002), as a graduate teaching assistant in Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester (2004-2005 and 2007-2009), as an assistant professor at the Graduate Programme of Sound and Image Studies in Documentary, the Tainan National University of the Arts / Taiwan (2009-2010), and as a post-doctoral fellow at the Universidade Federal da Bahia (2011-2013). Since 2013, Pinheiro has worked as a lecturer in rural sociology at the Institute for Rural Development, Universidade da Integração Internacional da Lusofonia Afro-Brasileira (UNILAB), in Ceará, Brazil.

Downloads

Published

2016-06-23

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2016)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:

a. All rights reserved for authors. Journal has right to first publication. Work is simultaneously licensed under Creative Commons Attribution License which permits sharing work with recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal for non-commercial ends.

b. Authors are authorized to separately make additional contracts for non-exclusive distribution of version of work published in this journal (e. g. publish in institutional repository or as book chapter), with recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal.

How to Cite

Pinheiro, Joceny de Deus. 2016. “Iracema, the Honey-Lipped Virgin: Denial and Affirmation of Indigeneity in Contemporary Ceará”. GIS - Gesture, Image and Sound - Anthropology Journal 1 (1). https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2525-3123.gis.2016.116353.