<p>This thesis explores the shifting cultural identities of young Owambo migrants living in Babilon, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Windhoek, Namibia. Through an investigation of their social, cultural and economic lives, I show how these young people invoke their Owambo-ness, but how they also transcend their ethnic identifications through engaging in an emerging Namibian youth culture, which cuts across rural-urban, ethnic, and socio-economic divides. I argue that young migrants from Ovamboland, who intend to escape their poverty stricken rural homes and arrive on packed busses, bringing with them few possessions and great expectations, constantly shift and resituate their cultural identities while trying to make a living in the city. These young people are eager to engage fully in a better life and hope to find employment in the urban economy. For many, however, this remains just that &ndash / hope. In their daily lives, the young migrants replicate, reproduce and represent rural Owambo within the urban space. Using the examples of &lsquo / traditional&rsquo / food and small-scale urban agriculture, I explore how their ideas of Owambo-ness are imagined, enforced and lived in Babilon. I argue that although migrants identify themselves in many ways with their rural homes, and retain rural values and practices to a large extent, this does not mean that they would remain &ldquo / tribesmen&rdquo / , as earlier, how classic studies in Southern African urban anthropology argued (Mayer 1961 / Wilson and Mafeje 1963). They also appropriate &ldquo / ideologies&rdquo / and practices of the emerging Namibian youth culture, especially popular local music and cell phones. My study thus shows that the migrants develop multiple, fluid identities (with reference to Bank 2002) / they identify concurrently with the urban and the rural and develop a synthesis of both. The thesis is based on ethnographic research, which was conducted between February and May 2008. During the fieldwork, I engaged daily in informal discussions with many residents of Babilon, and carried out life history interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with key research participants.</p>

<p>This thesis explores the shifting cultural identities of young Owambo migrants living in Babilon, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Windhoek, Namibia. Through an investigation of their social, cultural and economic lives, I show how these young people invoke their Owambo-ness, but how they also transcend their ethnic identifications through engaging in an emerging Namibian youth culture, which cuts across rural-urban, ethnic, and socio-economic divides. I argue that young migrants from Ovamboland, who intend to escape their poverty stricken rural homes and arrive on packed busses, bringing with them few possessions and great expectations, constantly shift and resituate their cultural identities while trying to make a living in the city. These young people are eager to engage fully in a better life and hope to find employment in the urban economy. For many, however, this remains just that &ndash / hope. In their daily lives, the young migrants replicate, reproduce and represent rural Owambo within the urban space. Using the examples of &lsquo / traditional&rsquo / food and small-scale urban agriculture, I explore how their ideas of Owambo-ness are imagined, enforced and lived in Babilon. I argue that although migrants identify themselves in many ways with their rural homes, and retain rural values and practices to a large extent, this does not mean that they would remain &ldquo / tribesmen&rdquo / , as earlier, how classic studies in Southern African urban anthropology argued (Mayer 1961 / Wilson and Mafeje 1963). They also appropriate &ldquo / ideologies&rdquo / and practices of the emerging Namibian youth culture, especially popular local music and cell phones. My study thus shows that the migrants develop multiple, fluid identities (with reference to Bank 2002) / they identify concurrently with the urban and the rural and develop a synthesis of both. The thesis is based on ethnographic research, which was conducted between February and May 2008. During the fieldwork, I engaged daily in informal discussions with many residents of Babilon, and carried out life history interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with key research participants.</p>

Masters of Art / This thesis explores the shifting cultural identities of young Owambo migrants living in Babilon, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Windhoek, Namibia. Through an investigation of their social, cultural and economic lives, I show how these young people invoke their Owambo-ness, but how they also transcend their ethnic identifications through engaging in an emerging Namibian youth culture, which cuts across rural-urban, ethnic, and socio-economic divides. I argue that young migrants from Ovamboland, who intend to escape their poverty stricken rural homes and arrive on packed busses, bringing with them few possessions and great expectations, constantly shift and resituate their cultural identities while trying to make a living in the city. These young people are eager to engage fully in a better life and hope to find employment in the urban economy. For many, however, this remains just that - hope. In their daily lives, the young migrants replicate, reproduce and represent rural Owambo within the urban space. Using the examples of 'traditional' food and small-scale urban agriculture, I explore how their ideas of Owambo-ness are imagined, enforced and lived in Babilon. I argue that although migrants identify themselves in many ways with their rural homes, and retain rural values and practices to a large extent, this does not mean that they would remain "tribesmen", as earlier, how classic studies in Southern African urban anthropology argued (Mayer 1961; Wilson and Mafeje 1963). They also appropriate "ideologies" and practices of the emerging Namibian youth culture, especially popular local music and cell phones. My study thus shows that the migrants develop multiple, fluid identities (with reference to Bank 2002); they identify concurrently with the urban and the rural and develop a synthesis of both. The thesis is based on ethnographic research, which was conducted between February and May 2008. During the fieldwork, I engaged daily in informal discussions with many residents of Babilon, and carried out life history interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with key research participants. / South Africa

Parler des médias sous l’angle des identités culturelles dans un contexte mondialisé, c’est pour démontrer qu’au delà de transmettre des informations de toutes natures (information-nouvelles, informations-connaissances, loisirs, et publicité), les médias sont aussi des véhicules de culture. Dans cet environnement globalisé, les contenus publics produits et diffusés par les entreprises de médias n’assurent ils pas une tendance à l’uniformisation des cultures vers les cultures économiques les plus puissantes ? Notre travail a consisté à observer et à analyser cette relation interdépendante existant entre les cultures, les médias et la mondialisation, dans des cas de pays choisis en Afrique subsaharienne, afin de savoir comment les médias et la globalisation, peuvent être des agents de la mondialisation des cultures, ou si des éléments de résistances et de défenses des identités culturelles se manifestent. Les médias ont sans doute été pleinement des vecteurs de l’occidentalisation à leur arrivée en Afrique subsaharienne. De nos jours, prédomine toujours l’emploi des langues des colonisateurs dans les médias écrits. Cependant, au sein des médias parlés, les langues africaines sont beaucoup plus utilisées.Concernant, les contenus, nous avons pu observer que beaucoup d’entreprises de médias occidentales s’implantent en Afrique subsaharienne en introduisant des contenus occidentaux qui ont une influence culturelle significative sur les récepteurs africains. Ces dernières, introduisent plus de contenus africains dans leur programme afin d’élargir l’audience, dans un contexte de plus en plus concurrentiel.L'Afrique suscite, un regain d'intérêt, nous l'espérons prometteur. / To speak media under the angle of the cultural identities in a globalized context, it is to demonstrate that to pass on(to transmit) information of all kinds (information-news, information-knowledge, leisure activities, and advertising(publicity)), the media are also vehicles of culture. In this globalized environment, do not the public contents produced and spread(broadcasted) by the companies of media assure(do not insure) no trend(tendency) the standardization of the cultures towards the most powerful economic cultures?Our work consisted in observing and in analyzing this interdependent relation existing between the cultures, the media and the globalization, in cases of countries chosen in sub-Saharan Africa, to know how the media and the globalization, can be agents of the globalization of the cultures, or if elements of resistances and defenses of the cultural identities show themselves. The media were doubtless completely vectors of the westernization upon their arrival in sub-Saharan Africa. Nowadays, always prevails the employment(use) of the languages(tongues) of the colonizers in the written media.However, within the spoken media, the African languages are much more used.Concerning, the contents, we were able to observe that many western companies of media become established in sub-Saharan Africa by introducing western contents which have a significant cultural influence on the African receivers. The latter, introduce more African contents into their program to widen the audience, in a more and more competitive context. Africa arouses, a renewed interest, we hope for it promising.

Nzayabino, Vedaste. 0419340w. Research report submitted to Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Johannesburg 2005 / ‘Making things our own’. This is one of the ultimate goals pursued in establishing churches within refugee communities. The refugee church has become both a channel of material support and spiritual factory where social and emotional fabrics are strongly rewoven among people linked together by a common culture and shared experience. This is a qualitative case-study of the Word of Life Assembly (WOLA), one of the independent churches established by forced migrants in Yeoville, Johannesburg. Established by a Congolese pastor, the church counts a total of about 450 members, mostly refugees (about 98%), predominantly from the Democratic Republic of Congo (more than 95%). The study seeks to explore the role of the church in the lives of refugees, and determine the ways forced migrants understand this role. More importantly, it was found that WOLA has been able to integrate refugees who could not otherwise integrate in local or domestic churches in Johannesburg. Language and spiritual problems have been identified as the major barriers to integration. In this respect, the study has revealed four levels of integration within WOLA church; that is, integration of a refugee into a refugee community, religious integration, and cultural integration. The fourth level of integration consists of integration of the refugee church itself. In this regard, it was revealed that, as far as refugee church is concerned, not only church members are to integrate into host community and/or churches, but the [refugee] church itself – labelled thus as a ‘foreign’ entity – is to seek its own integration into and approval from the South African community in general, and host faith-based institutions in particular. Moreover, the study revealed that, in an attempt to meet the diverse needs of its members, WOLA offers a wide range of special services and activities, notably material and social assistance, and pastoral counseling. Finally, WOLA has become a strategic place where religious and socio-cultural identities are easily built and maintained among members, and where social networks are interwoven among refugees themselves, and between refugees and their country of origin.

Estudamos como as representações televisivas construídas em narrativas brasileiras e consumidas por brasileiros, paraguaios, argentinos e uruguaios , participam da articulação das identidades culturais nas fronteiras entre o Brasil e os países vizinhos Paraguai (Foz do Iguaçu-Ciudad del Este), Argentina (Uruguaiana-Paso de los Libres) e Uruguai (Santana do Livramento-Rivera). Concretizamos esta pesquisa sob a orientação teórico-metodológica de uma abordagem contemporânea no campo da Comunicação, representada pelos Estudos Culturais Britânicos e Latino-Americanos, explorando suas aproximações, no que diz respeito à interculturalidade, com a Antropologia Cultural. Realizamos três estudos de caso dentro de uma perspectiva qualitativa, desenvolvendo dois tipos de entrevistas com quarenta fronteiriços, montando e utilizando um banco de dados com as narrativas televisivas que se tornaram relevantes ao longo deste trabalho, e recorrendo, ainda, à observação participante e às anotações efetuadas em diário de campo. / We studied how television representations built on brazilian narratives and consumed by brazilians, paraguayan, argentines and uruguayan , participate in the articulation of cultural identities on the boarders between Brazil and neighbor countries Paraguay (Foz do Iguaçu-Ciudad del Este), Argentina (Uruguaiana-Paso de los Libres) and Uruguay (Santana do Livramento-Rivera). We completed this research under theoretical and methodological guidance of a contemporary approach in the field of Communication, represented by British and Latin American Cultural Studies, exploring their similarities, concerning intercultural, to Cultural Anthropology. Three case studies were conducted within a qualitative perspective, developing two types of interviews with forty boarders, assembling and using a database with the television narratives which became relevant throughout this study, and yet, calling upon participant observation and notes taken in the field diary.

Diferentes organizações sociais no interior dos Estados-nação modernos, confrontadas com o aprofundamento e a diversificação dos processos de globalização contemporâneos, buscaram redefinir seus papéis, modos de atuação e percepções sobre a pertença à nação. Esta tese investiga processos de construção identitária ligados a migrações internacionais e, mais especificamente, a relações transnacionais entre organizações nacionalistas e emigrantes. Apresenta-se como objetivo a análise do discurso nacionalista hindu contemporâneo sobre a emigração, elaborado a partir da sociedade de origem, a Índia, concentrando-se no modo como processos nacionais influenciam a construção de identidades transnacionais. Para tanto, examina-se o processo de (re)construção da identidade hindu como uma identidade transnacional, por uma organização nacionalista específica: o Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Organização Nacional de Voluntários, RSS), atuante na Índia e em sociedades com quantidades significativas de migrantes indianos. Concentrou-se na análise do discurso oficial da Organização Nacional de Voluntários, ou seja, no exame de livros e panfletos publicados pelo grupo nacionalista hindu em questão. A pesquisa documental foi realizada durante o período de trabalho de campo na Índia (entre dezembro de 2010 e maio de 2011), principalmente em arquivos mantidos pela Organização, em Nova Déli. Os documentos nacionalistas hindus selecionados para análise podem ser divididos em duas categorias: narrativas sobre a nação hindu que tratam parcialmente do tema da emigração e discursos sobre a emigração propriamente dita. Em ambas as categorias de textos, verifica-se a ocorrência de: (i) reelaboração de percepções sobre a emigração (de modo mais específico, a construção de imagens positivas da emigração e dos emigrantes); ii) (re)construção de vínculos simbólicos com os emigrantes (ou seja, a reformulação da noção de pertença à comunidade nacional, com vistas à incorporação do emigrante nas narrativas sobre a nação). O exame dos processos de construção identitária empreendidos pela organização nacionalista em questão revela-se crucial para a análise da própria criação de canais institucionais que pretendem efetivar os vínculos simbólicos entre sociedade de emigração e emigrantes, uma vez que a formação de filiais ultramarinas, pela Organização Nacional de Voluntários, foi legitimada e estimulada pelo discurso nacionalista hindu sobre a emigração. Ademais, a análise realizada evidencia que a (re)construção de vínculos transnacionais entre a pátria e seus emigrantes, por organizações não estatais na sociedade de origem, promove a transnacionalização dos próprios ideários nacionalistas formulado por tais organizações. A representação da identidade hindu como uma identidade transnacional, a vincular indianos residentes na Índia ou no exterior a uma unidade sociocultural ampliada, o Grande Hindustão, implica, nesse sentido: i) a afirmação da predominância da noção de pertença à pátria hindu sobre outras identificações possíveis, entre os emigrantes; ii) a tentativa de reterritorialização das relações transnacionais entre as partes, isto é, a caracterização da sociedade indiana como o centro de redes transnacionais construídas ao longo de processos de emigração. / Distinct social organizations within modern nation-states seek to redefine their roles, strategies and perceptions of nationhood as contemporary globalization processes deepen. This thesis examines the construction of cultural identities in contexts significantly affected by international migrations. More precisely, we investigate transnational relations between nationalist organizations and emigrants. Since our objective is analyzing contemporary Hindu nationalist discourse on emigration, which is elaborated within the sending-society, India, we focus on the influence of national processes over the construction of transnational identities. In this connection, we examine the process of (re)construction of Hindu identity as a transnational identity by a particular nationalist organization: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Organization, RSS), active in India and in receiving-societies with significant amounts of Indian migrants. We concentrate on the analysis of the official discourse of National Volunteers Organization, that is, on the exam of books and pamphlets published by such Hindu nationalist organization. Documentary research was done in India, from December, 2010 to May, 2011. Hindu nationalist documents selected for analysis can be divided in two categories: narratives on Hindu nation only partially related to emigration matters, and discourses on emigration properly speaking. Both categories highlight: (i) the reinterpretation of perceptions of emigration (more precisely, the construction of positive images of emigrants and emigration); ii) the (re)construction of symbolic linkages with emigrants (i.e. the reformulation of the idea of national belongingness, in order to include the emigrant in national narratives). The investigation of processes of identity construction, undertaken by the RSS, is crucial to the analysis of the very creation of institutional channels that intend to realize the symbolic linkages between sending-society and emigrants, once the foundation of Hindu nationalist overseas branches was legitimated and encouraged by the organizations discourse on emigration. Moreover, the analysis presented in this thesis reveals that the (re)construction of linkages with emigrants, from the homeland, furthers the transnationalization of nationalist ideologies. Thus, the representation of Hindu identity as a transnational identity, linking resident and non-resident Indians to a broad sociocultural entity, the Great Hindusthan, implies: i) the assertion of prevalence of the belongingness to the Hindu nation over alternative identifications constructed by the emigrants; ii) the attempt of reterritorialization of transnational relations between the parts, that is, the intention of depicting Indian society as the core of transnational networks formed during emigration processes.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-04T20:04:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 8 / Nenhuma / Esta dissertação tem como propósito analisar as identidades culturais produzidas pelas representações que circulam na Comunidade Silva, dita quilombola, situada na cidade de Guaíba/RS, e busca compreender como estas convergem para a identidade quilombola fixada pelas políticas públicas ou a põem sob tensão. Para compor meu corpus de pesquisa, foram utilizadas entrevistas semi-estruturadas, gravadas em áudio, posteriormente transcritas, com cinco moradores da Comunidade Silva - dois homens e três mulheres - e observações registradas em diário de campo. Analisei o material de pesquisa produzido no contexto da Comunidade, com base nas teorizações dos Estudos Culturais a partir de uma perspectiva alinhada com o pensamento pós-estruturalista e utilizando como ferramentas teóricas de análise os conceitos de representação, identidade e diferença. Analisei a produção das identidades gaúchas, as identidades afro-brasileiras e as identidades quilombolas – que convergem para a identidade quilombola fixada por jurisprud / This dissertation aims at analyzing cultural identities produced by representations spread in the allegedly maroon Silva Community, in Guaíba, Rio Grande do Sul. It is an attempt to understand how these representations either converge or strain the maroon identity fixed by public policies. The research corpus has included semi-structured interviews, which were tape-recorded and transcribed, with five people living in Silva Community – two men and three women – and field notes. I have analyzed the research material produced in the Community context, based on Cultural Studies theorizations, from a perspective in line with the post-structuralist thought, having the concepts of representation, identity and difference as theoretical analytical tools. Intertwining the analytical tools with the research material has made possible to understand identity crossings experienced by subjects from Silva Community. I have analyzed the production of gaucho, Afro-Brazilian and maroon identities, which both converge to and str

Diferentes organizações sociais no interior dos Estados-nação modernos, confrontadas com o aprofundamento e a diversificação dos processos de globalização contemporâneos, buscaram redefinir seus papéis, modos de atuação e percepções sobre a pertença à nação. Esta tese investiga processos de construção identitária ligados a migrações internacionais e, mais especificamente, a relações transnacionais entre organizações nacionalistas e emigrantes. Apresenta-se como objetivo a análise do discurso nacionalista hindu contemporâneo sobre a emigração, elaborado a partir da sociedade de origem, a Índia, concentrando-se no modo como processos nacionais influenciam a construção de identidades transnacionais. Para tanto, examina-se o processo de (re)construção da identidade hindu como uma identidade transnacional, por uma organização nacionalista específica: o Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Organização Nacional de Voluntários, RSS), atuante na Índia e em sociedades com quantidades significativas de migrantes indianos. Concentrou-se na análise do discurso oficial da Organização Nacional de Voluntários, ou seja, no exame de livros e panfletos publicados pelo grupo nacionalista hindu em questão. A pesquisa documental foi realizada durante o período de trabalho de campo na Índia (entre dezembro de 2010 e maio de 2011), principalmente em arquivos mantidos pela Organização, em Nova Déli. Os documentos nacionalistas hindus selecionados para análise podem ser divididos em duas categorias: narrativas sobre a nação hindu que tratam parcialmente do tema da emigração e discursos sobre a emigração propriamente dita. Em ambas as categorias de textos, verifica-se a ocorrência de: (i) reelaboração de percepções sobre a emigração (de modo mais específico, a construção de imagens positivas da emigração e dos emigrantes); ii) (re)construção de vínculos simbólicos com os emigrantes (ou seja, a reformulação da noção de pertença à comunidade nacional, com vistas à incorporação do emigrante nas narrativas sobre a nação). O exame dos processos de construção identitária empreendidos pela organização nacionalista em questão revela-se crucial para a análise da própria criação de canais institucionais que pretendem efetivar os vínculos simbólicos entre sociedade de emigração e emigrantes, uma vez que a formação de filiais ultramarinas, pela Organização Nacional de Voluntários, foi legitimada e estimulada pelo discurso nacionalista hindu sobre a emigração. Ademais, a análise realizada evidencia que a (re)construção de vínculos transnacionais entre a pátria e seus emigrantes, por organizações não estatais na sociedade de origem, promove a transnacionalização dos próprios ideários nacionalistas formulado por tais organizações. A representação da identidade hindu como uma identidade transnacional, a vincular indianos residentes na Índia ou no exterior a uma unidade sociocultural ampliada, o Grande Hindustão, implica, nesse sentido: i) a afirmação da predominância da noção de pertença à pátria hindu sobre outras identificações possíveis, entre os emigrantes; ii) a tentativa de reterritorialização das relações transnacionais entre as partes, isto é, a caracterização da sociedade indiana como o centro de redes transnacionais construídas ao longo de processos de emigração. / Distinct social organizations within modern nation-states seek to redefine their roles, strategies and perceptions of nationhood as contemporary globalization processes deepen. This thesis examines the construction of cultural identities in contexts significantly affected by international migrations. More precisely, we investigate transnational relations between nationalist organizations and emigrants. Since our objective is analyzing contemporary Hindu nationalist discourse on emigration, which is elaborated within the sending-society, India, we focus on the influence of national processes over the construction of transnational identities. In this connection, we examine the process of (re)construction of Hindu identity as a transnational identity by a particular nationalist organization: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Organization, RSS), active in India and in receiving-societies with significant amounts of Indian migrants. We concentrate on the analysis of the official discourse of National Volunteers Organization, that is, on the exam of books and pamphlets published by such Hindu nationalist organization. Documentary research was done in India, from December, 2010 to May, 2011. Hindu nationalist documents selected for analysis can be divided in two categories: narratives on Hindu nation only partially related to emigration matters, and discourses on emigration properly speaking. Both categories highlight: (i) the reinterpretation of perceptions of emigration (more precisely, the construction of positive images of emigrants and emigration); ii) the (re)construction of symbolic linkages with emigrants (i.e. the reformulation of the idea of national belongingness, in order to include the emigrant in national narratives). The investigation of processes of identity construction, undertaken by the RSS, is crucial to the analysis of the very creation of institutional channels that intend to realize the symbolic linkages between sending-society and emigrants, once the foundation of Hindu nationalist overseas branches was legitimated and encouraged by the organizations discourse on emigration. Moreover, the analysis presented in this thesis reveals that the (re)construction of linkages with emigrants, from the homeland, furthers the transnationalization of nationalist ideologies. Thus, the representation of Hindu identity as a transnational identity, linking resident and non-resident Indians to a broad sociocultural entity, the Great Hindusthan, implies: i) the assertion of prevalence of the belongingness to the Hindu nation over alternative identifications constructed by the emigrants; ii) the attempt of reterritorialization of transnational relations between the parts, that is, the intention of depicting Indian society as the core of transnational networks formed during emigration processes.

Submitted by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2014-08-21T11:50:15Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação CRISTINA PASSOSCORAL_MENINAS_CANTORAS_DE_P.pdf: 617739 bytes, checksum: 6fc0de610636605cfd28855578febef1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-21T11:50:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Dissertação CRISTINA PASSOSCORAL_MENINAS_CANTORAS_DE_P.pdf: 617739 bytes, checksum: 6fc0de610636605cfd28855578febef1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / This research aims at the investigation of the timbre in the interrelation of Cultural Identities with the Society, in a case study of Choir Meninas Cantoras de Porto Murtinho. Located at the border between Paraguay and Mato Grosso do Sul, Porto Murtinho is characterized by the contact of three cultures of different origins, which is materialized in the use of three languages. With an interdisciplinary approach, based on the cultural history of social sciences, of the voice and the singing, this research relates Music, Culture and Society. This work is founded on participant observation, with qualitative approach, comparing and presenting the singing of the girls before and after the vocal work as well as questionnaires and interviews with professionals, choir participants and community members. During the analysis it remains clear the feedback between the objects studied, tone, identities, culture, choir and society, and their representations, that promote changes in the lives of the girls. Out of this study emerges the importance of the relationship between tone and cultural identities. / A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo investigar o timbre nas inter-relações das Identidades Culturais com a Sociedade, num estudo de caso do Coral Meninas Cantoras de Porto Murtinho. Situada na fronteira entre o Paraguai e o Mato Grosso do Sul, Porto Murtinho é marcada pelo contato entre três culturas de origens distintas, o que se manifesta no uso de três idiomas na região. Com abordagem interdisciplinar, a partir da história cultural, das ciências sociais, da voz e do canto, a pesquisa relaciona Música, Cultura e Sociedade. Este trabalho fundamenta-se na observação participante, com abordagem qualitativa, utilizando a comparação e apresentando o canto das meninas antes e depois do trabalho vocal, além de questionários e entrevistas com profissionais, participantes do coral e membros da comunidade. No decorrer da análise fica evidente o processo retroalimentar existente entre os objetos estudados, timbre, identidades, cultura, coral e sociedade, e suas representações, que promovem transformações nas vidas das meninas cantoras. Deste estudo emerge a importância da relação entre timbre e identidades culturais.