Se alguém morreu, alguém o matou : religião Yran na Senegâmbia nos séculos XV e XVI

Abstract

The purpose of this dissertation is to discuss the central elements for religion soso, balantas, nalus, bagas and felupes populations that inhabited the south of the Casamance River between the middle of the 15th and 16th centuries. We chose to designated this cultural expression as Yran Religion, and we explored the social and cultural constitution of Senegambia, considering contacts and cultural encounters of the period with other peoples and nations, especially from the influence exerted by their particular beliefs and rites in the Senegambian space. In this process, special attention was paid to conceptual rigor and to the dialogue with Anthropology, as essential elements for a good understanding of the research object. The documentary sources selected for this effort are the so-called ‘travel reports’, produced by mainly Portuguese. This documentary typology was selected because it allows an analysis of how the extraterrestrial element was an important aspect of the social and psychological organization of these groups, and how it has changed or stiffened depending on the specific political and cultural context faced.