O brinquedo é real / eu brinco boi como brinca uma criança: ensaio introdutório acerca da rivalidade ritualizada e os afetos nos bois de Parintins

Abstract

The Parintins Festival is one of the most traditional popular festivals in the Northern Region, where the Caprichoso and Garantido bulls compete for three nights, mobilizing fans around this event. This work aims to analyze how the relationship of rivalry and affection is built between the Caprichoso and Garantido bulls, based on the lyrics of toadas (a specific musical genre linked to bull-related festivities). To carry out this, we used a methodology of documentary research and narrative analysis of four selected toadas from each of the bulls, considering three axes: playfulness, ambivalence, and the totemic object. From the results, the relationship between the axes, in addition to addressing the explicit content in the toadas, allowed us to explore paths that enabled the understanding of their symbolic and psychological unfoldings translated into the rivalry and affection between these groups. Thus, we perceived the codependent relationship provided by the ritualized rivalry that contributes to the maintenance of this centuries-old culture.