Necrodança e a manifestação do boi canarinho: a arte do controle da dança na lógica civilizatória

Abstract

This research constitutes a critical reflection on how the continuity of popular culture is harmed by civilizational logic. To this end, narratives were collected on the culture and popular poetics of Bumba-meu-boi performers, with an emphasis on the tradition of Boi Canarinho das Goiabeiras, promoted by Casa das Negas, a space of refuge for dissident bodies in Barra do Ceará. The analysis explores how power dynamics, colonial relations, and insufficient public policies contribute to the weakening of popular manifestations, evidencing the erasure of ancestral and insurgent practices. Drawing from the works Potential History by Azoulay and Necropolitics by Mbembe, the research develops the concept of necrodança, which demonstrates how certain cultural expressions are subjected to processes of erasure, distortion, and fragmentation to meet the market demands of civilizational progress. By revisiting the narrative and elements of the Boi Canarinho manifestation, the research highlights the importance of cultural access, ancestral resistance, and the spirituality present in popular traditions, which challenge social hierarchies and serpentine their way to flourish.