The affirmation of indigenous identity in the works Metade Cara, Metade Máscara, by Eliane Potiguara, and Iracema, by José de Alencar

Resumo

This study aims to raise a discussion on the indigenous identity affirmation present in Metade Cara, Metade Máscara (2004), by Eliane Potiguara, and Iracema, by José de Alencar, in order to establish a comparative dialogue between them. The novel Metade Cara, Metade Máscara (2004) allows us to reflect on indigenous identity, since the author brings to the plot aspects of the Potiguara peoples, such as: their traditions, experiences, cultural representations and influences of their ancestors. In Iracema (1865), the author points out issues of Brazilian nationality since the country's colonization. Alencar, among other nineteenth-century writers, sought to define national identity with his literary productions inspired by indigenous representation. The work tells the story of two ethnic groups: the Tabajaras and Pitiguaras peoples, who come into conflict because of the relationship between the indigenous protagonist Iracema and the Portuguese colonizer Martim. The author emphasizes the characteristics of the Brazilian landscape, resembling a female character that surpasses the exotic beauty of nature. The study is supported and based on the studies of theorists such as: Zigmund Balman (2005), Eliane Potiguara (2004), Stuart Hall (2003), Homi Bhabha (2005),  Daniel Munduruku (2018), Graça Graúna (2013) and Aníbal Quijano (1992, 2006), among others. As a result, it is possible to identify significant changes regarding the discourse of resistance through more active literary voices engaged in the process of reconstruction and identity affirmation.