Festas do Rosário como patrimônio: entre o vivido e a prática estatal

This paper is about the heritagization of the Our Lady of the Rosary’s festivals, also named “Congadas de Minas”, in Brazil. This process started in 2008 by the Brazilian federal agency for cultural heritage, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional (IPHAN). The immaterial cultural heritage policy is based on the statement that the globalization threatens the cultural diversity in the planet. For that reason, some cultural practices, such as the Our Lady of the Rosary’s festivals, should be preserved. Nevertheless, in this specific case, the cultural practice is a festival. The festivals, especially the religious ones, are the moment when the collective phenomenon that animates social life is produced. Because of their own dynamic, the festivals do not have a risk to disappear. Therefore, the argument that bases the heritagization policies is in conflict with the dynamic of the Our Lady of the Rosary’s festivals.