Moving the body, moving the grassroots

Well, I haven't been to the MST yet (that's tomorrow morning), but a couple really interesting things have happened in this week, so why not write about them before I go?

First off, I got to go with my portuguese class to an Umbanda ceremony on tuesday night. Umbanda is of course the more blended of the two prominent Afro-Brazilian religions, mixing elements of Christianity, West Afrfican orixa worship, and indigenous beliefs. It was a fascinating affair, even if I didn't quite understand what exactly was happening. Actually, that was an overall theme – there always seemed to be at least four or five things going on on the floor of the temple, which was pretty clearly a converted house with a big shrine containing images ranging from Jesus on the cross to an indigenous Brazilian deity I wasn't familiar with. What's more, the ceremony seemed fairly unplanned – whenever one dance, song, or bit of worship ended, someone would chime in the beginning of another, all while the drummer pounded away at the single kpanlogo-like drum that held everything together. At a certain point, people started putting on hats and headdresses to represent different aspects of Brazilianism, from cowboy hats for the vaqeiros of Rio Grande Do Sul to tall plumed indigenous headdresses. And all the while, most of the assembly was drinking something and/or smoking cigars. It was quite the spectacle.

The other event was somewhat less lighthearted, but no less fascinating and perhaps more hope-inducing. In preparation for our MST visit, we went to see the MST's activities in Fortaleza. This is however a key time for the MST: they are on the verge of making a big breakthrough in negotiations with the government; they have a packet of demands on the table. To put pressure on Lula to accept them, they've taken a pretty major action: in all the state capitals of Brazil, they're occupying the INCRA (the government organ for land reform) buildings – just taking over, having 1500 or so people living there until the government acquiesces. Well, thanks to organisational connections, we managed to get inside the building. It was packed – the grounds were covered in mats and hammocks, people were eating everywhere, there were a ton of babies, the works. What's more, the building has been occupied since sunday, so it's pretty organised and will be sustained if needed – occupying places is the main way the MST lays claim to land, so they know it well. We had a lecture in there on agrarian reform, but really the main thing was seeing direct action at work, and it was very, very impressive.

Anyway, that's all for now. Until I return from the MST...