The Maline enchanted: the dark face of the boto in narratives ribeirinhas Marajoaras

Abstract

This article brings to the discussion, with regard to narratives of oral tradition, another strand in relation to the Boto narratives. n the best-known and most widely-read stories, he is always revealed to be an enchanted, seductive and mistress of women on party night. However, in the narratives collected in the city of Curralinho, located on the banks of the great Pará River, on Marajó Island, we find stories that point to other faces. In order to compare, we bring two narratives from the book Belém account ... "Impressive section" and "Boto bonito", which show exactly those remarkable features of the Boto. For the contrast, we put three narratives, recorded with three riverside narrators, from life reports, where an obscure face of this enchanted river was perceived, causing the madness and death of those who approach it. To that end, we seek the support of Loureiro (1995), which discusses the Amazonian imaginary, especially here about Boto, and Benjamin (1993), which shows the relevance of oral tradition narrators in any community.