Bumba-Meu-Boi from Maranhão

This work is the result of a Scientific Initiation project at the high school level, supervised by Prof. Dr. Antônio Jorlan. The proposal was to identify and catalogue *Bumba Meu Boi* groups located far from the capital, São Luís, and from the cities of the Baixada Maranhense — the stronghold of most Maranhão *Boi* groups — as well as those present in the city of Timon.

The farther one moves from these spaces — the capital and the Baixada — the scarcer *Bumba Meu Boi* culture becomes in the state. The research revealed similarities regarding permanence, preservation, and the absence of public policies between the groups in the capital — structured as a totemic figure of the state and of tourism — and the groups present in the city of Timon.

The book offers a brief dialogue on Folk, the *Bumba Meu Boi* festival, the dispute over its origins, religiosity, styles, and the *Boi* groups in Timon.