O saber-fazer das mulheres rurais na Festa da Farinha de Anastácio-MS: memória, cultura e resistência.

Abstract

Abstract This study seeks to foreground the agency and leadership of the women of Colônia Pulador, a rural community in the municipality of Anastácio, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, by valorizing their gastronomic and cultural knowledge. Such knowledge is interpreted as a form of resistance, identity reaffirmation, and knowledge production within the context of the Festa da Farinha (Flour Festival), a traditional celebration of local Northeastern Brazilian heritage. The research employed bibliographic review, semi-structured interviews with female community members, and the implementation of a traditional Northeastern cooking workshop at the local school, engaging elementary students. The analysis examines the transformation of the Festa da Farinha from its original purpose of safeguarding Northeastern traditions to its current state, increasingly influenced by market interests, which has directly affected women’s participation and the preservation of core cultural values. The theoretical framework draws on feminist and gender studies, particularly the contributions of Simone de Beauvoir, Judith Butler, Linda Nicholson, Telma Gurgel, and Heloísa Buarque de Hollanda, alongside reflections on identity and culture from Stuart Hall, Néstor García Canclini, and Raymond Williams. By framing culinary practice as both a political and pedagogical act, the study underscores the significance of integrating traditional knowledge into school environments as a strategy to resist cultural erasure and to affirm women’s collective memory. It reaffirms the school as a legitimate space for the transmission of ancestral knowledge and the construction of a more plural, critical, and contextually grounded education.

Keywords: Festa da Farinha; Rural Feminism; Colônia Pulador; Culture and Resistance