Anselmo": apresentações, imaginarias e história sobre a lenda da cobra grende na cidade de Maués

Abstract

The present research has as its theme of interest the legend of the Big Snake, recorded in the city of Maués. Better known as the legend of Anselmo, a popular figure from Maués who crystallized in the popular imagination, taking one of the most common mystical forms in the interior of Amazonas, the enchanted one. In this way, the importance of the legend for the construction of historical knowledge for Maués society is elucidated, with the objective of making a brief study on the representations of this imaginary present in the oral tradition, in literature and in the historicity of Brazilian society. To this end, literary works, oral testimonies published in books and the memory of the legend in certain residents of the city of Maués are used as sources. It was found that the aforementioned legend has gained national proportions since the publication of the work Cobra Norato, by Raul Bopp, alongside this, with the studies of the folklorist Câmara Cascudo, as well as through Amazonian literature, including toadas de Bois-Bumbás. The final intention was to elaborate a certain historicity of the representation of Anselmo's imaginary and, thus, contribute to the historical and cultural meaning of this legend for the inhabitants of the city of Maués.