Banner Influence of the Contested War for the old Village of Curitibanos

In 1851, the monk João Maria D’Agostin, a healer, hermit, alchemist, prophet, mystic and profound connoisseur of the occult sciences, arrived in the region of the disputed (old town of Curitibanos). This enigmatic figure made the way for the troopers to reach the south of the country, becoming known as the messianic figure. The historical moment that the country was going through, with the arrival of European immigrants in lands already occupied by the native population, made this impoverished people feel abandoned by the authorities. The monk’s presence was seen as a religious reference by these relatively isolated populations.

Many authors suggest that another João Maria would have appeared between 1886 and 1893, and that the figures that are known to this day of the monk would have been made of him. The story has many variations, but the main line is that the prophet would have had a dream, that he should go out into the world of penitentiary and preaching. The beginning of the Contest Movement in that same period, in a struggle against economic and political power, used the name of the monk João Maria as a symbol of the movement. If it was a priest, or many known by the same name who contributed to the monk’s vision of immortality and reincarnation, the fact is that his figure attracts pilgrims to this day. 

As a result of the covid-19 pandemic, where social isolation is necessary, uncertainties and fears permeate the minds of the residents of the Contestado region. However, images of the monk João Maria circulate through social media, bringing comfort to those who believe in the saint and pray to him. The figure of “The monk who heals”, as in 1912, brings comfort again to the population that is going through difficulties. The photo of the saint shared in a Facebook group in the city of Curitibanos received more than 500 likes and a hundred comments from its faithful. As an example, comments like that of Rozana Lima, who says: “Protect us, Saint John Mary” are the most common. The belief in the monk remains alive in the memory of the residents of the Contestado region and manifests itself mainly in times of adversity.

Commentary of a city member in the post (João Maria the monk who heals) taken from Mercadão Curitibanos page of facebook.

Figure of the Monk João Maria shared in Facebook group.

Source: Post held in a private Facebook group Mercadão Curitibanos available at: <https://www.facebook.com/groups/638473372930818/for_sale_search/?forsalesearchtype=all&query=monge&referral_surface=direct_link&availability=available>.

The Monument to the Monk João Maria, built from 1983 to 1989 in the city of Curitibanos/SC, receives devotees and religious, who come to seek the saint’s blessing. The figure, which brought hope and inspiration to the peasant movement, is still worshipped and maintains its importance immortalized in the popular imagination of the Contestado Valley residents.

Monument to the monk João Maria, in the district of Água Santa in the municipality of Curitibanos/SC. Photograph taken by Daniel Granada, project coordinator.

Image of the Monk João Maria present in the monument. Photograph taken by Daniel Granada, project coordinator.

References

WELTER, Tania. O Profeta João Maria continua encantando no meio do Povo: Um estudo sobre os discursos contemporâneos a respeito de João Maria em Santa Catarina. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Florianópolis, 2007. Disponível em: <https://cpdoc.fgv.br/sites/default/files/imagens/dossies/contestado/trabalhos/WELTERTania.pdf>. Acesso em: 06 abr. 2020.

MONUMENTO ao monge João Maria. Alma Cabocla Proposta de Desenvolvimento Turístico Cultural. Blogger. Curitibanos, 2014. Disponível em: <http://contestadoalmacabocla.blogspot.com/2014/10/monumento-ao-monge-joao-maria.html>. Acesso em: 06 abr. 2020.

Text by Karen Wesseler Jung.

The Contestado War (1912-1916), which put the peasants and the Federal Government of the time on opposite sides, took place in the former Contestado Valley. The memory of the war is preserved in museums, monuments, historical sites and religious pilgrimage spaces in several municipalities of the Contestado valley. The historical region built by the presence of German, Italian and Japanese immigrants, in addition to the caboclos and person of African descent who already inhabit the region, is today a much sought after tourist destination in Brazil.

On July 4, 2019, the decision of the Contestado Valley Regional Government was issued, changing the name of the tourist region to Vale do Imigrante, which will consist of 25 municipalities, including the cities of Itaiópolis, Mafra, Major Vieira and Porto União. The detachment of Vale do Contestado has already been recognized by the Ministry of Tourism and is part of the 13th tourist region of Santa Catarina, being published in the Brazilian Tourism Map 2019.

This controversial decision, taken without consultation with the academics and historians of the Memory Institution of the region, was not well received by the majority of the population and a denunciation of the absence of debates about the substitution was taken to the Public Ministry and Legislative Assembly. According to Professor Nilson Cesar Fraga, who has been studying the region and the Contestado War for 25 years, the change is an “attack against the formation of the Santa Catarina people”. The history and effects that the Guerra do Contestado had on the region, and the presence of blacks and caboclos have their importance denied in favour of the valorisation of European colonisation.

Such a controversial decision, taken without consultation with the academics and historians of the Institution of the Memory of the region, was not well received by the majority of the population. The history and effects that the Contest War had on the region, and the presence of blacks and caboclos have their importance denied in favor of the valorization of European colonization. The Government justified its decision in the minutes as a better way of presenting the region for the tourist route.

The Government Court justified its decision in minutes as a better way of presenting the region for the tourist route, trying to make the Valley of the Immigrant a tourist project that reminds the gaucho cities of Gramado and Canela.  For the researcher Paulo Pinheiro Machado, professor of History at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, trying to imitate a successful model, denying the identity of the region is a disrespect for our history and there is no economic justification that allows this achievement.

For the president of IGR Caminhos do Contestado, Viviane Bueno, the dismemberment will help to develop the region, which is one of the most impoverished in Santa Catarina. It justifies that cities like Piratuba, with much more infrastructure, were classified in the same region as municipalities that did not have the capacity to serve visitors.

References:

BASTOS, Ângela. Mudança do nome e perda de área do Vale do Contestado geram críticas de pesquisadores. NCS Total notícias, 2019. Disponível em: <https://www.nsctotal.com.br/noticias/mudanca-do-nome-e-perda-de-area-do-vale-do-contestado-geram-criticas-de-pesquisadores>. Acesso em: 23 de março de 2020.
MACHADO, Paulo Pinheiro. Em defesa da Memória, da Justiça e da Cidadania das populações do Contestado. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Florianópolis, 2019. Disponível em: <https://paulopinheiro.paginas.ufsc.br/2019/11/>. Acesso em: < 23 de março de 2020.

Text by Karen Wesseler Jung and Francine Soares de Almeida.

Nome do candidato – Alexandre Lima de Oliveira.

Candidatos selecionados

Candidatos selecionados para a entrevista:

9:00h Cris Prado 

9:30h Alexandre Lima de Oliveira

What is Kendo?

Kendo is derived from the Japanese Samurai’s dedication to the Japanese art of swordsmanship (Ken-jutsu). Training with a sword that has a live blade, as can be imagined, is very dangerous so various schools of swordsmanship in Japan’s past developed ways to lessen the danger. These methods are the origin of Kendo.One weapon introduced as an alternative to the Katana (The Japanese sword used by samurai) was the bokuto, a wooden sword used in kumitachi or seiho now known as kata (set forms). (Source: http://kodokankendo.org/what-is-kendo/)

In the Santa Catarina plateau there is a Kendo Academy of Practice Kendo BunBuKan, maintained by descendants of Japanese immigrants who settled in the region in 1964. The colony of Frei Rogério maintains artistic and cultural practices as a way of maintaining the cultural identity of the country of origin. Sensei Elzami Miwa Onaka is responsible for teaching Kendo in Frei Rogério, where she conducts regular training and activities with students from different regions of Brazil. The images are from a gasshukus held with a Japanese master in October 2019.

Japanese culture is one of the most striking elements of the importance of immigrants in the formation of rural space in the Santa Catarina plateau. The colony of Frei Rogério is very active in holding commemorative events and preserving the memory of the country of origin.

This project is supported by the edital Bolsa Cultura 2020.

Projetos Bolsa Cultura

This project aims to use the art and the means of dissemination and communication in order to disseminate the culture of the territory, valuing the roots and reminding us of the cultural identities of the Serrano Catarinense Plateau in which many people circulate and where the University is inserted, thus aiming at the valorization of the regional identities, and the historical rescue of the social identity of the region, taking the past into consideration for understanding the current context, with a view to building a more inclusive and tolerant future. This is a multi-method exploratory research, which will be conducted through bibliographic research and documentation, interviews, photos, videos about the cultural identities of the Curitibanos region and the Santa Catarina Plateau.