Is it sweet and honourable to die for the country? civic rituals and military discipline in the Contestado War

Abstract

This paper analyzes the civic rituals enacted by the Brazilian army during the repression of the Contestado movement. The analysis is based on public speeches given by army officers at military exercises. It is postulated that these public speeches aimed to discipline soldiers, justify the war casualty and shape the identity of the internal enemy, the Contestado rebels. The rituals also point to the close relationship between the army and national politics, particularly with the republican regime the army helped establish in 1889. Such strategy was inspired not only by past experiences but also by body to body conflicts with rebels in the south of Brazil. The paper starts by looking at the discipline and militarization of rituals acted out by followers of Saint João Maria, and then highlights religious aspects of military action taken in the battlefield during the Contestado war.