We trace the origins and development of the annual Meeting of the Rain Prophets, held in Quixadá, Ceará, demonstrating how the invention of this tradition depends on the circulation of public, academic and media discourses in order to achieve the goal of preserving the culture imagined to exist in the rural Northeast. We examine the intersection between culture and folklore, analizing the collaboration of individuals, media and researchers (including anthropologists) in the production of culture related to rain prediction. We show how texts produced by the media and researchers enter into public discourse about the rain prophets. In these ways, we are simultaneously inventing and preserving a tradition. Taking a close look at the intertextuality of media, academic and public discourses about the rain prophets, we contribute to debates about the influence our work has on the knowledge and practices we study.
circulating discourses; invented tradition; media; rain prophets