“Saint Rita of Cascia, pray for us”: an analysis of the novena of Saint Rita of Cascia in Rio de Janeiro

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the novena of Saint Rita, in a church in Rio de Janeiro. The novena is analyzed in its formal aspect and in its ritual character. Considering that in a ritual form is content, the article describes and analyses the formal structure of sentences, as well as the sequences and patterns of acts, speeches, and gestures during the celebration. The work is based on an ethnographic research, in dialogue with the theoretical perspectives of ritual anthropology (Tambiah 1985a; Leach 2000 [1966]; Malinowski 1930), speech acts (Austin 1974), anthropology of devotion and gender studies.

Keywords:
novena; ritual; devotion; symbolism; Saint Rita