Appearances in the sertão of Seridó

among Tapuias and Christians, the beautiful girl bathing in the well (Rio Grande do Norte, 17th-19th centuries)

Abstract

This writing examines the theme of the organization of appearances in the sertão of Seridó, Rio Grande do Norte, between the 17th and 19th centuries. The text is part of our research interests to learn about dressing as a cultural practice and sensitive experience, notably in the spatiality of the countryside in Rio Grande do Norte, with the aim of discussing images and discourses about the masculine and feminine forged in the articulation of the process of conquest of America with the occupation and colonization of the Seridó hinterland. Starting from the scriptural definition of the region and the regional being, we seek in History and Memory to find human subjectivities, drawing inspiration from the concept of gender linked to power relations. As a methodology, we gathered texts from past and present Seridó regionalism authors, in prose and poetry, which were analyzed in the light of theoretical references in the areas of fashion and gender. The reports about the indigenous presence and the arrival of the population of portuguese origin, plus the narratives about black and mixed-race people, seen from historical data and legendary tales, are crossed from the perspective of the organization of bodily externalities. After the analyses, we found that the construction of genders within the context of patriarchal country society took place gradually in everyday life, when collectively standardized dressing/undressing and endowed with singular meanings defined the designs of the masculine and feminine in the sertão of Seridó.