In recent years, the Boi-Bumbá festival in Parintins, in the state of Amazonas, has reached massive proportions. In surprising and creative ways, the festival mixes traditional cultural patterns and themes together with modernizing procedures and approaches. It has now become a major expression of popular culture in North Brazil, drawing thousands of people not only from the state capital of Manaus and nearby cities but also from all over the country. The article analyzes the Boi-Bumbá from an anthropological perspective, centered on the study of rituals and including observations on the study and history of folguedo in Brazil. Looking from an ethnographic angle, the article situates the festival in the context of the Amazon and examines the road taken from its creation to today. In conclusion, the Bumbá is interpreted as a new nativism that serves as a positive affirmation of cabocla cultural identity by valuing indigenous regional roots.
ritual; Parintins; popular culture; Boi-Bumbá; nativism