Caatinga e a comida do Sertão na microrregião geográfica e cultural de Euclides da Cunha/BA

Abstract

Food from various Bahian territories is conditioned by their climatic conditions. The study of the caatinga and the food of the Bahian backlands reveals, in a significant way, the values of this unbelieving territory by many, as well as cultural peculiarities of what is produced regionally, involving principles of community participation and sustainability. Due to the vast extension of the Bahian sertão, territorial identities, as well as the intangible cultural heritage that involves popular knowledge and specific cultural formation presented in this thesis, the geographic and cultural microregion of Euclides da Cunha was selected for this study, highlighting the municipalities of Euclides da Cunha, Monte Santo, Canudos and Uauá that reveal a strong territorial identity through the memory of its sertanejo people, who - despite the adverse climatic conditions - indicate survival strategies, at the same time as they point out dishes of enhanced flavor, to the taste of this region. In this sense, the present work aims to identify, locate and contextualize the sertanejos customs associated to the regional climate, revealing the inheritances and traditions associated to the culinary, that involves ways of preparation, regional raw materials, beliefs, traditions and the created recipes throughout history, exhibiting the results of this process that are the food of the Bahian backlands. The most recurrent methodology of analysis and synthesis was used, using procedural techniques such as bibliographical and documentary consultations, assisted by field research, using open interviews and personal observations to qualitatively and quantitatively show the cuisine of the associated backcountry to regional culture. The data were obtained directly in the study sites, aided by other methods such as historical and comparative, mainly because, it was assumed that the culinary manifestations were transformed, from external influences, but above all to demonstrate the value and importance of sertaneja food throughout the Bahian universe. As a methodology of procedure, a documentary survey was made of sources that dealt with the subject, both bibliographical and electronic. The direct observation during the years 2016 and 2017 allowed the identification of places, people, cuisine and food of the backwoods cuisine in space and time, identifying the permanences and transformations in the focused territory. External influences, especially through associations and cooperatives, strengthen the traditional models of secular making, promoting the historical rescue by showing that the ways of living together in the backlands can also allow, through food, to mark their identity.