Territorialidades rurais no município de Parintins: habitus, circularidade da cultura e ethos ambiental na localidade do Zé Açu

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand the rural territorialities in the municipality Parintins and its relationship with socio-environmental sustainability, based on the analysis of the process of circularity of the culture, habitus, and the environmental ethos in Zé Açu. The concepts of territory, territoriality and place were the theoretical reference to understand the relationship that exists between society, environment and culture and its connection to sustainability in its several dimensions. The research is characterized as quali-quantitative, using both quantitative and qualitative data (triangulation). This is because in studies on socioenvironmental issues, especially when the subject-environment relationship is involved, the joining of distinct areas of knowledge is necessary as, therefore, is the use of different methods that allow for a more wide-ranging comprehension of the reality. Data collection techniques used include a survey given via forms, participant observation, individual and collective (focus group) interviews with tabulation and processing done using statistical programs (SPSS and Excel), for the quantitative data and discourse analysis for qualitative data. Data was presented using tables, charts, graphs, maps and dense description of the analytical-reflexive character resulting from participant observation and interviews. It is through agriculture and fishing that traditional knowledge is passed on, where the land and the water become the locus of the reproduction of the life of the families living along the riverbanks of Zé Açu. Likewise, religious rites and folkloric festivals help to maintain their social, cultural and territorial structure. The main environmental problems in the area of study are: lake aggradation, deforestation for livestock farming, mining and increased production of solid waste that is improperly discarded. Environmental agencies and research institutes have little presence in order to avoid/mitigate these problems that already affect the ways of life of the people dwelling along the rivers. The main community of Zé Açu, Bom Socorro, has been found to be undergoing a process of changes to its spatial and socio-cultural structure; however, these changes, which occur in rural areas, are inherent to the arrival of aspects of modern life that bring contact with other references closer. This does in fact result in transformations; nevertheless, it does not mean the end of certain ways of life, but rather that they take on new meanings, now based on other values and social practices that will always be dynamic. The understanding of the relationship of the territory with culture as presented here can help in reflections on the strategies used by these groups to better control and order their territories, as well as in conserving natural resources so as to guarantee the balance between the ecosystems and the subjects that use them, thus maintaining the habitus and environmental ethos of the riverbank dwellers of Zé Açu. After all, this is the basic presupposition of sustainability in its social, economic, cultural and environmental dimension.