The Rodas in Rio de Onor: A structuring and structural principle

Abstract

Of all the principles of organization and sharing identified by the author in his study of the communitarianism in Rio de Onor, that of rotation is remarkable due to its structural position, its recurrence, the variety of circunstances in which it can be activated and its versatility. Above all, however, it is remarkable because it shows the village as a social phenomenon under constant construction and reproduction in which all parts have equal rights. The simple model which allows the rotas to function - based on the positions the houses occupy in the village - the constant rotation of the jobs to be done and of the quota of the resources of all (or most) of the houses, the equidistance at which they are situated in relation to the centre, i.e. the village (their total being the village) produce a spatial, social and ideological structure which defines a political universe, which this article also describes.