The Exposed Raw: an analysis of the raw in afro-religious goods stores

Abstract

The stores of afro-religious goods are present in all regions of Brazil and commercialize products necessary to diverse magico-religious practices. When we enter one of these stores, some objects call attention to the way they are accommodated, since they are usually exposed in ways that would be considered uncommon or even dangerous in the environment of the terreiros (temple). For sellers, such ways of organizing objects are only possible because of the raw nature of the products. Based on research carried out in three stores in Porto Alegre, this article argues that stores of afro-religious products can be understood as a prepared environment of rawness to be perceived and felt. We are therefore talking about ways of exposing the raw. Considering the different material and immaterial elements in interaction, I try to understand how the raw is exposed and how the forms of exposure produce the raw. Finally, I argue that these stores have a particular way of dealing with the multiplicity of the objects.