Desire of beauty and ritual in Amerindian verbal arts

Abstract This essay aims at discussing an aesthetic practice involving storytelling. Quem Conta um conto is a group connected with the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul that has been experimenting with activities related to oral narratives in a Mbyá-Guarani school. Considering the desire for beauty that underpins indigenous life, it has been possible, by means of verbal art, to understand the relationships between different kinds of poetics. Verbal art has also been a helpful tool in understanding the ways in which this community creatively borrows from other people’s points of view. It has also been possible to understand Amerindian artistic practices as ritualistic means of maintaining both the balance of the cosmos and of the community.