ONE FOOT IN THE HINTERLAND, THE OTHER ON THE BEACH: THE CATTLE TRADE IN THE SERTÃO REGION AT BAHIA'S FAIRS

Resumo

This work aims to characterize the transport of cattle, on foot, from the Bahian hinterlands to the fairs of Capoame and Feira de Santana, recognized as major supplier centers for the market of meat, leather and draught animals to Salvador and its Recôncavo. In this way, we seek to represent the human figure of the tangerinos [drovers] in the performance of this work, as well as the socioeconomic context of these individuals imbued in the cowherd activity, in the specificity of the cattle transport. Placed in a condition of inferiority and segregation, these representatives of the grazing economy convoyed cattle on foot, over long distances, from the beginning of the appropriation of the lands of the native peoples until the middle of the twentieth century, with the gradual emergence of railroads and highways. In this way, we seek, with this work, to bring to the center of the debate on the History of Bahia, through the oral narratives of our coadjutors, the socioeconomic and cultural contribution of the cattle drovers, as well as the knowledge and practices, the hardships and the life trajectories of these historical subjects, scarcely discussed by historiography.