The Fantastic East: Carnivalesque Public Space and Civil Sphere in Brazilian National Identity Building

Abstract In this article, I bring together the theory of the civil sphere and the concept of carnivalesque public space to analyze the function of symbols and discourses about the non-Western world in the construction of national identity in Brazil. I argue that the carnivalesque public space contributes to broadening and reinforcing solidarity in the civil sphere by de-nationalizing national identity. The orientalist representations that took place in Salvador’s carnival consolidated the “oriental” imaginary as an important dimension of the incipient national identity building process, as well as highlighted the ambivalences and discontinuities of the mosaic of symbolic references associated to it. This fantastic representation of the East corresponded to a particular expectation of meaning: the aesthetic contours of the national-popular boundaries in Brazil and its sense of belonging. The article analyses how national identities are created through symbolic references that are both within and beyond its own borders.