Produção, consumo e significados dos souvenirs turísticos em Tiradentes - MG

Abstract

This present thesis has as objective to investigate the significance attributed to the production and consumption of souvenirs in the city of Tiradentes- MG keeping in view the theory of the gift by Marcel Mauss. The research, in qualitative nature, was guided by a sociological view and a relational and interpretative anthropological view. In this work, I assume the interpretive perspective from the reality of the ideas of Geertz: In this way, I make it clear that more than presenting a reality given to all observers independent of their values, I present a version that owes much to the interaction with those interviewed in Tiradentes and in the district of Vitoriano Veloso, the “Bichinho”. The methodological strategy put into practice in this research utilized bibliographical revision, as well as participant observation, the semistructured interview and informal conversations. The use of a recorder, photographic camera, and a field diary constituted important techniques in the apprehension of valuable information, not always expressed discursively by those interviewed. Theoretically the thesis is valued by contributions that permit reflection about the idea of consumption as well as the practices of the consumers and producers of souvenirs, beyond the perspectives centered on the rational subject. The notion of the gift and total social fact, central to the thoughts of Marcel Mauss, guided in great part the apprehension of the reality throughout my stay as a researcher in Tiradentes. My interpretation of the interpretations built from interaction with those I interviewed point, among other things, to an ambiguous field and many meanings. In great part I believe that the different affiliations of the subjects in relation to the social structure are crucial in accounting for this variation. Varying the insertion of the subject in a determined social group also changes the associated significance of the souvenirs, in addition to other objects, such as those classified as craft-work. The theory of the gift by Mauss answers some of my questions. However, I recognized that it cannot account for the wide range of meanings attributed by the actors, notably those inserted in more individualized contexts. The understanding of the phenomenon of the consumption of souvenirs in Tiradentes by tourists permits going beyond the most simple ideas of a greedy subject consuming what he finds in tourist locations, being an act of classification and reality planning. New questions arise at the end of this research, causing continuity from a mature look concerning the touristic phenomenon and consumption.