The mythical status and the argumentative dimension in buried treasure narratives produced in quilombola communities

Abstract

This research aims to discuss how the construction of myths is articulated with the argumentative dimension in oral narratives, more specifically in buried treasure narratives. They inhabit the imagination of quilombola culture and refer to the burial of a treasure by mythical entities, which, considering the qualities of the individuals in the community, reveal the existence of wealth, the place where it is buried and the necessary instructions for its rescue. The analyzed corpus has been studied by Borges (in progress) and was collected in eight quilombola communities in Baixo Tocantins - PA: Itabatinga, Itapocu, Laguinho, Mola, Taxizal, Tomázia, Frad and Laguinho.  The theoretical-methodological bases subscribe to the Theory of Argumentation within Discourse (AMOSSY, 2016, 2020), which proposes the notion of argumentative dimension as an effect of meaning projected by the enunciator, who intends not to explicitly persuade the enunciatee to a thesis, but only to change their ways of seeing and feeling; to the notion of myth proposed by Chauí (2020); and to studies about burial narratives developed by Fernades (2007). The analyzes demonstrate that both enunciator and narrator mobilize argumentative and rhetorical operations to disseminate and encourage ethical and moral values that are important for the community’s survival and resistance.