La fabroique des formes. Défiler en chantant

Abstract

Using the ethnographic data acquired during a field work that lasts from 2007 to the present, in Alentejo (a region in the South of Portugal), we propose an analysis of the processes that originated the creation of such cultural forms as the “choral groups” dedicated to the practice of “Cante Alentejano” as well as of a special kind of performances. These are the “Groups’ parades”, which happen during the groups’ meetings. We intend to work on the concept of “cultural form” considered as the result of the combination of three main elements: a conceptual structure, a regulation mechanism (which amounts to a system of norms) and a community of practitioners, the cultural form’s bearers. We describe the social processes of form building concerning the singing and its performance during the parades, and stress the effects of such performances’ modalities (singing while marching) on the music itself.