The Distinct Sacralizations of Heritage in Sintra, Portugal: The Manifestations of the Secular Sacred in Public Space

• Autor(a) principal: Boniolo, Roberta Machado
• Data de Publicação: 2024
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: Antropolítica (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.uff.br/antropolitica/article/view/57955
• topic: Sintra; Sacralização; Patrimonialização; Tensões; Espaço público.; Sintra; Sacralization; Heritage; Tensions; Public space.

The article explores tensions that arise from the use of public spaces in Sintra by various individuals, with a particular focus on marginalized groups, such as Afro-Brazilians, who consider these spaces sacred. It is based on an ethnography conducted between 2016 and 2017 in the town and mountains of Sintra. The study utilizes the concept of the secular sacred as both a theoretical and methodological framework to showcase how redefining the boundaries between the sacred and secular can enable marginalized groups to assert their existence in public spaces amidst the diversity that has characterized Portugal in recent decades. The study concludes that the secular and sacred domains interact dynamically, sometimes reinforcing social order and maintaining established spatial and religious configurations through the heritage process, at other times challenging dominant relationships by creating uses and meanings of heritage to secure their existence in the present and future.