Female-Exu: Meaning and Eroticism in Maria Padilha by Bixarte

Abstract

In this research, adopting a qualitative and descriptive approach, the aim is to investigate the possible meaning’s effect associated with the image of Female-Exu using the theoretical framework of Materialist Discourse Analysis. The mythologies surrounding this entity are linked to her power at crossroads and her potential to open paths, providing her followers new ways of understanding life. Additionally, the image of this entity updates meanings related to eroticism. Considering the hegemony of Christian ideologies, the representation of the Female-Exu leads to interpretations other than those which associate the erotic with sin. Therefore, unlike the Christian ideology, such as the image of the devil and/or satan, in addition to negative/pejorative erotic aspects associated with the entity by non-Candomblé and Umbanda practitioners, the research proposal is also to investigate possible erotic meanings in the lyrics “Maria Padilha” by Bixarte.