Transvivências nos terreiros : transgeneridades e religiões afro-brasileiras

Abstract

The present research aimed to address the trajectories of trans* individuals within three Afro-Brazilian religions – Umbanda, Candomblé, and Catimbó/Jurema – from a broad perspective, using multisited ethnography and considering transitions, life histories, and experiences of violence endured by the interlocutors. This study was situated within the field of Empirical Sciences of Religion, in dialogue with Anthropology. The analysis examined the construction of the concept of gender and transgenerity, as well as their problematizations, traversing Afro and Afro-Indigenous religions, with particular attention to the belonging of trans* bodies within Afro-Brazilian ritual practices. The general objective was to analyze the trajectories of transgender individuals within Afro-Brazilian religions and the implications of their transitions in religious contexts. The specific objectives were: to engage in a debate on the construction of the category of gender and its development toward the studies of transgenerity; to analyze the debates on transgenerity and Afro-Brazilian religions in relation to both classical authors and the state of the art; to address religious transphobia within Afro-Brazilian religions, as well as the forms of violence experienced by adherents; and to analyze trajectories and trans-lived experiences in terreiros, as well as the resistances of transgender individuals within religion. The relevance of this research lies in the scarcity of studies addressing transgenerity in Afro-Brazilian religions, particularly within the field of Religious Studies, which, despite engaging with analyses of gender and religion, largely remain within binary and feminist frameworks. Ultimately, the research sought to demonstrate that the inclusion of trans* bodies in ritual practices can occur through Butler’s (2018) concept of bodily performance and the reivindication of space through the simple presence of these bodies, regardless of verbal articulations. In this way, trans-lived experiences in the terreiros represent a silent manifestation of claims for belonging and space, challenging cisnormativity in terreiros and religious transphobia within both religion and ritual, where their bodies and gender identifications must be respected.