Abstract

GARCIA, Ypuan. “Seeking God” and being harassed by the Devil: objects in the life of Brazilian Catholics. Etnográfica [online]. 2018, vol.22, n.2, pp.259-280. ISSN 0873-6561.  https://doi.org/10.4000/etnografica.5312.

This article discusses how objects provide both the “search for God” and the risk of capture by the Devil among Catholics in the city of São Paulo. Whereas evil attacks through a wide range of objects, its neutralization occurs through the blessing of others: salt, water, cooking oil, clothes and documents blessed by a priest. It is argued that objects are important both to the “search” and the harassment because they are able to conceal and reveal divine and evil presences in accordance with the “intention” that adheres to them through the exchanges in which they take part.

Keywords : Catholicism; object; intention; exchange.

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