Bebo jurema e mergulho no rio que há em mim: etnografia do ritual neoxamânico com jurema sagrada no semiárido alagoano

Abstract

This is an ethnographic study focused on the ritual of the Jurema Sagrada performed at the spiritual center Aldeia Luz da Floresta, located on the banks of the São Francisco River, in the village of Vila Moxotó, municipality of Delmiro Gouveia, in the semi-arid region of Alagoas, Brazil. The work presents a descriptive analysis of the ritual, centered on the protagonism of the cabocla/shaman who leads the group and develops spiritual and therapeutic experiences within the neo-shamanic line, using the “contemporary” Jurema brew — an entheogenic sacred drink prepared from the inner bark of the roots of Jurema-Preta (Mimosa tenuiflora) and Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala). Guided by its own performance and methodology, the ritual displays a symbolic framework that intertwines elements of Indigenous and African (Afro-Indigenous) religiosity and esotericism, expressed through a cosmology involving the therapeutics of musicality, thereby contributing to the field of ethnographic studies on Rural Northeastern Neoshamanism. The study investigates the ritual practice of Aldeia Luz da Floresta, with particular attention to the trajectory of Nilma Carvalho. Her identity as an Indigenous woman, her migration from the Amazon/Pará region to the semi-arid Northeast, and her reconnection with Jurema personify the synthesis embodied by the ritual. The text situates her as a leader who articulates ancestral knowledge in a contemporary form. The ethnographic research introduces an innovative dimension by combining the ethnographic method with the personal experience of the researcher — himself a juremeiro and group member — through participant observation during ritual ceremonies. The qualitative research also involves interviews, photoethnography, and documentary research. The work provides a theoretical foundation that incorporates both classical and contemporary authors, addressing anthropological theory on symbolism, the efficacy of rituals, the culture of entheogenic plants, and the transformations of shamanism in contemporary contexts. The discussion addresses the phenomenon of Jurema in the semi-arid region, its symbolic and scientific transformations, as well as its socioenvironmental, geographic, and cultural impacts. Conducted within the caatinga biome — where the São Francisco River (Opará) is a central element for the survival of the region — the research explores a landscape marked by disputes and conflicts arising from the construction of hydroelectric plants by CHESF and the displacement of local riverine populations. This context enriches the anthropological analysis of the geographic space where the ritual practice takes place, representing a strong contribution to current debates on ritual studies, spirituality, ethnobotany, and contemporary urban spiritual practices.