Memórias encantadas: narrativas orais sobre o mito do Anselmo em Maués-AM

Abstract

This study analyzes the myth of Anselmo based on oral narratives collected from residents of the city of Maués, in the state of Amazonas, understanding it as a fundamental element of local collective memory and cultural identity. Anselmo is a character who circulates through oral tradition and shared memories, moving between the human and the enchanted realms. According to the narratives presented in this research, he lived during the 1920s and worked as a fisherman, healer, and blessing practitioner. On one occasion, he went fishing and did not return; his canoe and paddle were later found at Ponta da Maresia, marking the episode of his enchantment and transformation into a Great Serpent (Cobra Grande). After his enchantment, Anselmo continued to appear in local narratives, including accounts of requests for disenchantment and descriptions of his role as a protective entity. Oral history is adopted as the central methodology of the research, combining interviews, attentive listening, and interpretation of narratives in order to understand how the myth is constructed, transformed, and maintained over time. The analysis draws on concepts such as culture, myth, collective memory, enchanted beings, and tradition. Throughout the dissertation, it is argued that the myth of Anselmo plays an important role in the cultural identity of Maués, existing and resisting the passage of time through oral transmission and the intergenerational circulation of knowledge. The story of Anselmo is continuously reinvented in the city’s cultural, religious, and educational practices, revealing specific ways of understanding the past, the sacred, and the relationship between memory and tradition in the Amazonian context.