Voting offerings as signs of popular religiosity in the Alentejo region: the Hermitage of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Azaruja, and the Sanctuary of Lord Jesus of Piety, in Elvas

Marcus Vinícius Pereira das Dores

doi:10.1590/SciELOPreprints.15013

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Marcus Vinícius Pereira das Dores Federal University of Bahia https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9742-0903

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/SciELOPreprints.15013

Keywords:

Alentejo, Azaruja, Elvas, Ex-votos, Popular religiosity

Abstract

In Alentejo, a region in Portugal, there are two especially relevant religious sites. Pilgrims gather in the Hermitage of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Azaruja, and in the Sanctuary of Lord Jesus of Piety, in Elvas, since their foundation up to the current time, in order to ask for grace and to give thanks. A notable form of gratitude is thousands of ex-votos, i.e., votive offerings, located in these churches. The ex-votos are offered to different patrons, related to diverse maladies, and they are produced in unique forms and dimensions. They are used as material signs of human recognition once people receive the graces provided by a spiritual entity. Our interest in ex-votos goes beyond the preservation of these objects of popular devotion; we also work with them in our doctoral research, investigating them as a linguistic and cultural source from the 18th and 19th centuries.

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Author Biography

Marcus Vinícius Pereira das Dores, Federal University of Bahia

PhD in Philology and Portuguese Language from the University of São Paulo (USP), PhD candidate in Linguistics at the University of Évora. He holds a master's degree in Linguistic Studies from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a bachelor's degree in Languages from the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP). Since 2025, he has been a professor in the Philology department at the Institute of Languages at the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), where he coordinates the project "e-Philology: research and innovation network for experimental studies of Brazilian manuscripts," which is funded by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), process 443377/2024-3. Since 2021, he has been a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Center for History, Cultures, and Societies at the University of Évora and, since 2022, a member of the UNESCO Chair in Intangible Heritage and Traditional Know-How at the University of Évora. Since 2019, he has also been editor-in-chief of Revista LaborHistórico (UFRJ). He authored the proposal approved by UNESCO for the nomination of the Book of Inventories of the Cathedral of Mariana (1749-1904) to the Memory of the World Program (MowBrasil/UNESCO). He is a member of the Brazilian Linguistics Association (ABRALIN), the ANPOLL Textual Criticism Working Group, and the ANPOLL Editors Forum (FEANPOLL). In addition, he is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM-BR) with ties to the International Committee for Documentation (ICOM DOCUMENTATION).