Catechesis literature This is how the religious literature produced in Brazil during the 16th century became known. Father José de Anchieta was responsible for Brazilian catechetical works. With his religious verses and dramas, this Jesuit intended to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism.
Read too: Indianist romance — type of narrative produced in Brazilian romanticism in which the protagonist is an indigenous person
Summary of catechesis literature
Catechesis literature is the literature that was produced during the 16th century, in colonial Brazil.
It has religious and pedagogical content, and is composed of poetry and theater.
Its function was to convert indigenous Brazilians to Catholicism.
Father José de Anchieta was the main name for this type of literature in Brazil.
What was catechesis literature?
Literature of a religious or catechetical nature was the literature produced by the Jesuits during the 16th century, in colonial Brazil. It began with the arrival of the Society of Jesus in 1549. The Jesuits then began to have contact with the Brazilian natives. Catechesis literature, therefore, was aimed at this audience.
Characteristics of catechesis literature
Catechesis literature is a type of literature composed of poems and plays, and has these characteristics:
religious and pedagogical character;
praise of Catholicism;
criticism of indigenous beliefs;
medieval theocentrism;
predominance of religious records;
use of redondilhas in poems.
Purpose of catechesis literature
The aim of catechesis literature was convert Brazilian indigenous people to Catholicism. This type of literature began in Brazil with the arrival of the Society of Jesus, in 1549, religious order of the Catholic Church whose members were called Jesuits.
Main authors of catechesis literature
Father José de Anchieta (1534-1597) was the main name in catechesis literature in Brazil. Another important Jesuit was Father Manuel da Nóbrega (1517-1570), but this author did not produce truly catechetical, that is, evangelizing, literature. In addition to informative texts, he wrote, in 1557, a work that reflects on indigenous conversion: Dialogue on the conversion of the gentile.
Therefore, it was not aimed at native Brazilians. We can also say this about Jesuit Fernão Cardim (1549-1625), who wrote informative letters, in addition to his Treaties on the land and people of Brazil, written in the 16th century and published for the first time in 1925. In this way, Anchieta was the great representative of Brazilian catechetical literature.
Main works of catechesis literature
Father José de Anchieta wrote the following catechetical works:
Christmas party car (1561);
Poem of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God (1563);
Car from the feast of São Lourenço (1583);
Auto de São Sebastião (1584);
In the village of Guaraparim (1585);
Santa Úrsula car (1595);
Auto de São Mauritius (1595).
Difference between information literature and catechesis literature
In the first century of Brazil's existence, in the literary period known as sixteenth century, informative and catechetical works were produced. Understand the difference between them below:
Information literature: It is made up of letters, chronicles and reports from travelers. These works (or documents) have a narrative, descriptive and, sometimes, argumentative character. This type of literature was aimed at Europeans and was intended to inform these people about the new land.
Catechesis literature: targeted Brazilian indigenous people. Anchieta's poems and plays had a function, that is, to convince the native that their salvation lay in Catholicism.
Also access: Pero Lopes de Sousa's navigation diary — an important document in the history of Brazil
Solved exercises on catechesis literature
Question 1
(Unimontes) Read the highlighted excerpt from the Auto de São Lourenço, by José de Anchieta.
GUAIXARA
This foreign virtue
It irritates me greatly.
Who would have brought her,
with your polite habits
spoiling the whole earth?
Just me
I stay in this village
as chief guardian.
My law is inspiration
What I give you, I'm going far from here
visit another clod.
Who is strong like me?
Like me, highly regarded?
I'm a well-baked devil.
Fame preceded me;
Guaixará I am called.
My system is good living.
Don't be embarrassed
pleasure, nor abolished.
I want the tabas to light up
with my favorite fire.
A good measure is to drink
I fell until I vomited.
This is a way to enjoy
life, and it is recommended
to anyone who wants to take advantage.
Based on the excerpt above and reading the work, all alternatives are correct, EXCEPT
A) Being part of Jesuit production, the genre self-adapts themes to the communication situation and purpose of catechesis.
B) The use of indigenous names and references in Auto de São Lourenço it is a strategy at the service of the acculturation process.
C) The martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, giving the play its name, represents the example or testimony of salvation through faith proposed to the indigenous people.
OF Auto de São Lourenço assimilates aspects of indigenous mythology with the aim of promoting the reconciliation of opposing religious values, providing sympathy for the indigenous people.
Resolution:
Alternative D
“Indigenous mythology” is appropriated by Anchieta with the aim of belittling the native’s religious culture. There is, therefore, no objective of reconciling opposing religious values. For the catechizer, Catholicism is the only possible belief.
Question 2
All created things
know their Creator.
They all have love for you,
because they are preserved in it,
each in its strength.
[...]
If you love the creature
because she looks beautiful,
loves the graceful view
of this same beauty
over all things.
Of this divine beauty
you must be in love.
Let your soul be trapped
of that supreme beauty
man, much loved by God!
Hates all evil,
with spite and disdain,
And therefore, which is rational,
embrace the immortal God,
whole, supreme and only good.
ANCHIETA, José de. Self represented at the Festival of São Lourenço. Rio de Janeiro: National Theater Service/ Ministry of Education and Culture, 1973.
Regarding the fragment above, by José de Anchieta, it is possible to say:
A) It presents decasyllable verses, widely used in catechesis literature.
B) The presence of verbs in the imperative is a strategy to repel the reader or listener.
C) The lyrical self expresses itself ironically, with the aim of making religious criticism.
D) Despite its dramatic character, the text presents descriptive and narrative features.
E) The text has a conative function, as it aims to convince the recipient of the message.
Resolution:
Alternative E
The use of imperatives is one of the strategies used in text with conative function. This function of language is related to convincing the recipient of the message. In the text in question, the lyrical self seeks to convince the recipient to accept God or the Catholic faith.
Image credit
[1]C.Nogueirol / Wikimedia Commons (reproduction)
Sources
ABAURRE, Maria Luiza M.; PONTARA, Marcela. Literature: times, readers and readings. 3. ed. São Paulo: Editora Moderna, 2015.
MOREIRA, Marcello. Colonial catechetical dialogues: textual scene versus performance. Topoi, Rio de Janeiro, v. 17, no. 33, p. 353-371, Jul./Dec. 2016.
SANTOS, João Marinho dos. Writing and its functions in the Jesuit mission in 16th century Brazil. History, São Paulo, v. 34, no. 1, p. 109-127, Jan./Jun. 2015.
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/literatura/literatura-de-catequese.htm
