Activity of text interpretation, aimed at students in the sixth year of elementary school, about the Boom my ox. Did you know that this traditional festival in Maranhão is now a World Heritage Site? Are we going to learn more about this fact and the history of Bumba meu boi? So, read the text carefully and then answer the various interpretative questions proposed!
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SCHOOL: DATE:
PROF: CLASS:
NAME:
Read:
Celebration is typical of Maranhão and takes place in July
The celebration of Bumba meu Boi became a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) on December 11th. The party had already been recognized, in 2011, as a Cultural Heritage of Brazil by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan).
A cultural heritage is important to understand the history of a region or people, and it can be from a place (in this if it is considered a material heritage) to cultural expressions such as dances, parties and rituals (patrimonies immaterials).
The objective of recognizing something as a cultural heritage is to disseminate and protect these important cultural expressions and places, so that they are always present in societies.
What is Bumba meu Boi?
The celebration takes place in Maranhão in July. Unlike other places in the country, the party in Maranhão usually does not have reenactments of weddings, but rather the legend of Bumba meu Boi.
The story that is told begins with an enslaved woman named Catirina, who was pregnant. She felt a desire to eat the tongue of the most precious ox on the farm where she worked and, to please her, her companion kills the ox. Upon realizing the lack of the animal, the owner of the farm makes everyone look for it and when it is found, creatures folklore (like Caipora, a character who lives in the forest) make him come back to life and everyone is happy.
In addition, the party features dances, colorful parades, traditional music from the region and the making of handicrafts.
Newspaper “Joca”. Available in: .
Question 1 - In “Bumba Meu Boi Becomes Cultural Heritage of Humanity”, the author of the text:
( ) invites to “Bumba Meu Boi”.
( ) reports a fact about “Bumba Meu Boi”.
( ) gives an explanation about “Bumba Meu Boi”.
Question 2 - In the excerpt “Celebration is typical of Maranhão and happens in July”, the highlighted part expresses a circumstance of:
( ) place.
( ) mode.
( ) time.
Question 3 - Mark, below, the expression that takes up “The celebration of Bumba meu Boi”:
“The party had already been recognized, in 2011, as a Cultural Heritage of Brazil by the National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute (Iphan).”
Question 4 - According to the text, material heritage refers to:
( ) to a location.
( ) to a party.
( ) to a dance.
Question 5 - Reread this segment of the text:
“The purpose of recognizing something as a cultural heritage is to disseminate and protect these important cultural expressions and places, so that they are always present in societies.”
In the segment above, the underlined fragment reads:
( ) a condition.
( ) a purpose.
( ) a consequence.
Question 6 – Point out the fact that motivates the legend of “Bumba meu boi”:
( ) the owner of the farm orders everyone to look for the most precious ox.
( ) Catirina, being pregnant, wants to eat the tongue of the most precious ox.
( ) Catirina's companion kills the most precious ox to satisfy her desire.
Question 7 – In the passage “[…] folkloric creatures (such as Caipora, a character who lives in the forest) make him come back to life […]”, the term “how” indicates:
( ) an example of a folkloric creature that makes the ox revive.
( ) a conclusion about the folk creatures that make the ox revive.
( ) a comparison between the folkloric creatures that make the ox revive.
By Denyse Lage Fonseca
Graduated in Languages and specialist in distance education.