SIRIRI DE MATO GROSSO: A SUBJETIVAÇÃO DA ALMA PARA MANUTENÇÃO DO PERTENCER

Abstract

This dissertation investigates Siriri, a traditional cultural manifestation from Brazil’s Midwest region, particularly in Mato Grosso, interpreting it as an artistic language and a form of identity resistance. The research explores the phenomenon of the “subjectivation of the people’s soul” — the symbolic expression of collective memories, values, and experiences — within the tensions between tradition and modernity, resistance and commodification. Grounded in Cultural Studies, it draws on theorists such as Raymond Williams, E. P. Thompson, Néstor García Canclini, and bell hooks to discuss culture as a political, hybrid, and transformative practice. Methodologically, the study combines bibliographic research with interviews involving dancers, musicians, and leaders from four Siriri groups, analyzing the dance as an aesthetic, social, and communicational phenomenon. Findings reveal that Siriri transcends its folkloric dimension, emerging as a living language that interweaves body, music, and collective memory, functioning as a site of subjectivation and belonging. Rooted in riverside, quilombola, and Indigenous communities, Siriri expresses the resistance and reinvention of historically marginalized groups, consolidating itself as an invaluable element of Brazil’s intangible heritage. Despite the processes of spectacularization and commercialization, Siriri preserves its communal essence by reinterpreting traditions and reaffirming local identities. The research demonstrates that the dance operates as a form of popular pedagogy and cultural transmission across generations, fostering the valorization of regional cultures and strengthening collective identity. It concludes that Siriri is more than an artistic manifestation — it is a language of life and resistance, a political act that preserves identities and reveals the plural soul of Mato Grosso’s people, highlighting the need for cultural policies that ensure its preservation and promotion.