Que trabalhais como se brincásseis: trabalho e ludicidade na infância Capuxu.

Abstract

In this work I seek to show the concept of childhood of the children of Capuxu community. For this, I dwell on the childhood practices in existence in the community and legitimised by the same, conscious that childhood is a cultural construction and hence these practices are particular to and altered from place to place. For this reason, I propose to course through the socio-cultural particularities of this rural community, via the spectrum of childhood. The preoccupation is with the living childhood experiences and how these may be capable of reflecting the daily life of the community and assume its values, customs and beliefs. To begin with childhood is one of the life phases that cultivate interest in identity. Even though the social sciences and literature in general may have designed childhood with forms of play the Capuxu community has determined aspects that go beyond the fun element. In the Capuxu childhood a trilogy emerges: play, learning and work. Far from turning into opposite poles, interconnected by learning, work and play are not incompatible in Capuxu infancy. In the Santana farm, where the Capuxu children live out their rural infancy, the spaces for and times of work, of play and of learning are mixed and intertwined. In this way learning for work is incorporated in collective practices that are, in themselves educational and fun orientated and integrate the socialization process of the children. These three elements: play, work and learning, in interaction give a particular form to Capuxu infancy and lead us to a new theory: childhood ought to be perceived from the point of view of its practices. In this way each community determines what aspects characterize and legitimate the childhood of its children. Amongst the children Capuxu I discovered, that work does not deny either play or learning; that learning occurs not only in the school, but also in the planting field during work and during play; that play is in everything and in all moments and finally a childhood that is defined with many particular characteristics.