A privatização da fé: capelas domésticas nas Minas Gerais dos séculos XVIII e XIX

Abstract

This research reflects a specific perspective on the history of Brazilian dwellings, specifically those built at the landholders properties in Minas Gerais during the 18th and 19th centuries. It refers to the religious daily life, organized in the domestic chapels that were a part of the architectural complex in the country. The study investigates the domestic religiosity in Minas Gerais in order to identify the prerogatives assigned to domestic chapels, and eventually, how these chapels were appropriated. Based on the handwritten documentation found in important archives in Minas Gerais and Portugal, as well as in reference books covering this subject, we can perceive the singularity of Portuguese America and also of Minas Gerais. In these regions, the domestic chapels have achieved attributions that have made them an auxiliary force of the Parish Churches, as they provided spiritual support to the parishioners installed in the country. These chapels still made available the entire liturgical accouterments that were mandatory to the fulfillment of daily religious obligations. Additionally to that, they as well became powerful mechanisms used by the landholders as a signal of wealth and, by inference, power and status.