LITERARY INTERTEXTUALITY, INTERPRETATIVE ANALYSIS, AND AFRO-BRAZILIAN RELIGIOSITY FOUND IN THE SONGS BY MARIA BETHÂNIA

Abstract

Maria Bethânia's interpretations of Afro-Brazilian literature provide fertile ground for intertextual analysis of literature, music, and religion. Her career is marked by an aesthetic sensibility that intersects the sacred, the poetic, and the popular in performances that are simultaneously sung words, declamations, rituals, and songs. The research reveals related themes that can be explored analytically in the form of literary interaction. The text presents a summary of the singer's biography. We will learn how she acquired her literary knowledge and how she developed her syncretic faith. Evaluations of the songs chosen and performed by Bethânia will allow us to understand a little more about the history of the Catholic saints Saint Barbara, Saint Anthony, Saint John the Baptist, Saint George, as well as the Candomblé orishas: Oxum, Ogum, Xangô, and Oyá-Iansã. For intertextual analysis, bibliographic research was used, with a comparative analysis of MPB songs, which allows us to understand how Brazilian popular music can function as a means of valuing Black culture and African-based religiosity. The main scholars in this field are: Abreu (2004), Almeida (2012), Carvalhal (2008), Fonseca (2007), Passos (2008), Pena (2013), Resende (2015), Silva (2004), and Zumthor (1993). Her religious principles and poetic signature are evident in her songs, which she herself chooses to express her artistic, spiritual, and poetic essence.