Cultural Heritage: senses and meanings in the public spaces of Natividade/TO

sentidos e significados nos espaços públicos de Natividade/TO

Abstract

In this essay I seek to describe the city of Natividade, located in the southeastern region of the state of Tocantins. This city was once a mining camp, from the old north of Goiás, having its origins in the first half of the 18th century. The city has a rich architectural, urban, landscape and historical heritage. From the colonial architecture, the site stands out for the beauty of the houses and public buildings, such as the old public jail and the churches of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, Nossa Senhora da Natividade and São Benedito. Of fundamental importance is the intangible cultural heritage, I cite the example: the know-how of handcrafted jewelry and the festivities of the Divine Holy Spirit. What I present here in this text is, in part, extracted from the research I carried out during my doctorate in History, at the Federal University of Goiás, in which I adopted Oral History as a methodology because I considered it significant for the reconstruction of historical facts. I carried out a field research, combined with a documentary and bibliographical research, having as a theoretical reference authors who discuss about Goiás historiography, memories and cultural heritage. The images, narratives and historical data reveal how much the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of a city says about the sociability among its residents.

Keywords: Cultural heritage. City of Nativity. Popular parties.