Renata Menezes is a professor in the Anthropology Department of the National Museum, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (ufrj). D. (2004) and M.A. (1996) in Social Anthropology from the Graduate Program in Social Anthropology of the National Museum, ufrj (ppgas/mn/ufrj). Coordinator of the Laboratory of Anthropology of the Playful and the Sacred of the National Museum (Ludens). Researcher at the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.cnpq and Faperj's "Cientista do Nosso Estado". renata.menezes@mn.ufrj.br

EncArtes multimedia

Sweet saints: devotions to Cosmas and Damian in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The essay reproduces a synthetic version of the virtual exhibition “Doces santos: as devoções a Cosme e Damião no Rio de Janeiro”, originally exposed on the Instagram of our anthropology laboratory, Ludens. It is one of the results of a long-term collective anthropological research on the devotion to the twin saints Cosmas and Damian, which in Rio de Janeiro is characterized by the distribution of bags full of sweets and candies to children every September 27 or on upcoming dates. This work seeks to understand the relations of reciprocity, interreligious relations and urban flows articulated by the celebration of saints from the perspective of the people who make it possible.

  • Lucas Bártolo
  • Morena Freitas
  • Renata Menezes

The essay reproduces a synthetic version of the virtual exhibition “Doces santos: as devoções a Cosme e Damião no Rio de Janeiro”, originally exposed on the Instagram of our anthropology laboratory, Ludens. It is one of the results of a long-term collective anthropological research on the devotion to the twin saints Cosmas and Damian, which in Rio de Janeiro is characterized by the distribution of bags full of sweets and candies to children every September 27 or on upcoming dates. This work seeks to understand the relations of reciprocity, interreligious relations and urban flows articulated by the celebration of saints from the perspective of the people who make it possible.