Grafismos marajoaras: uma abordagem semiótica da arte pré-colonial

Abstract

Based on the results obtained through the sub-project "Iconography and Aesthetic Style as Demarcators of Social Boundaries and Identities", developed in the period from August 2005 to July 2006, whose study sought to identify in the material collected at Teso Belém, site PA-JO-T5: Camutins, -Ilha de Marajó elements that have been used as social and gender identity marks, especially from the study of the iconography of objects found in the funerary context, the need to make a theoretical deepening regarding the study of cosmology as a motivating phenomenon for artistic expressions was observed. The methodology used for the execution of the research was: a) to study the relationship between myth and aesthetic styles in Amazonian indigenous art; b) to set up a theoretical substrate based on semiotics that meets the general objective of the project; c) to relate the iconography present in the artifacts with the site's spatial context and d) to identify the relationship between art and cosmology through the construction of a grammar of relationship between the various signs used. So far it has been observed that, in pre-colonial indigenous societies, the presence of myths is not only manifested during the various existing rituals, but is also manifested in the way the society behaves and acts in its daily life. In the Marajoara culture, cosmology is expressed through the spatial configuration of the sites, the relationship of this context with the ceramic aesthetic styles, and in all the art that is visible and invisible. Although some data is still being collected and analyzed, it is concluded that the decorative patterns of the Marajoara Culture formed a mythical system and was the driving force for the aesthetic conception of the group. The signs printed on ceramics were used as a means to artistically display their worldviews, gender, political organization, and identities, as well as configuring a means of visual communication used by the population of that time. However, the study of these conceptions based on the funerary practices of Teso Belém, although extremely relevant, does not exhaust the information that leads to a solid understanding of the social organization of the Marajoara culture.