Historical and imaginary reconstruction of the Contestado War: a battle between events and meanings

Abstract

This article discusses the brazilian social sciences contributions to milenarist and messianic movements. The historical reconstruction of these phenomenons is based in the suggestions of Maria Isaura Pereira de Queiroz, to whom the imaginary of the people was not enoughly studied, especially into the messianic movements. We take the notion of imaginary as conceived by Cornelius Castoriadis, seeking to achieve another reading to the brazilian messianic movements, more specifically to the events of the so called Guerra do Contestado. Therefore we propose a new point about the messianic phenomenon, in order to go beyond some interpretations which only distinguish at these movements the caractheristics of "retardments". Demonstrating that imaginary is inextricably connected to power, we may restitute to these sertanejos their legitime historical agents condition.