ARE THE DEVOTIONS OF THE PASSION OF JESUS IN MACAO STILL A “DANGEROUS MEMORY”?

摘要

AMONG THE MULTIPLE IMAGES USED TO PROMOTE MACAO AS A TOURISTIC DESTINATION, WE CAN FIND SOME RELATED WITH THE CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS, IN PARTICULAR WITH THE CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS TO THE PASSION OF CHRIST AND THE CULT OF THE VIRGIN MARY. DISCUSSING THE CONCEPT OF “DANGEROUS MEMORY” AS PROPOSED BY JOHANN BAPTIST METZ AND ANALYZING THE RITUALS ASSOCIATED WITH THE DEVOTIONS AROUND THE PASSION OF JESUS, THIS PAPER AIMS TO LOOK AT, AND PRESENT, THE DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF A MESSAGE OF SUBVERSION OF UNBALANCED RELATIONS OF POWER AND DOMINATION, SUCH AS THE IMAGE OF THE SUFFERING JESUS IN THE CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY OF MACAU. THE METHOD FOLLOWED IN THIS PAPER IS ETHNOGRAPHIC AND STRUCTURED AROUND SOME MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE FIELD OF RITUAL STUDIES. THE IMPLICATIONS OF THIS RESEARCH ARE RELATED WITH THE DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS AND USAGES OF A RELIGIOUS IMAGE AND THE DRIFT OF ITS POWER.