Title: Entre a magia da voz e a artesania da letra: o sagrado em Manoel de Barros e Mia Couto
Abstract: Literature assumes singular contours in the surround of the hegemonic countries.Brazil and Africa are territories marked by complex tension between genuine elements and elements imposed by colonization.Our attempt is to bring together these bordering experiences in this thesis of Comparative Literature in which we reflect on the sacred elements as a significant source to help build identity.We present a comparative reading of Mia Couto and Manuel de Barros, as examples of Brazilian and African culture.The sacred, seen as a dimension of existence, different from the profane component (although present in it), is part of the aesthetic and political project of both authors, being important to establish the identity of these cultures, as well as to project a new human being and a new way of knowing and learning in the XXI century.Either visible or disguised, the sacred is part of both the traditional and the modern culture, being present in works of literature for adults or children.Through its manifestation, both in poetry and prose, it is possible to spot similar roots and identity features in the two cultures and literatures that compose a macrosystem, in which none of them can be considered a paradigm.Portuguese language is the means with which Brazil and Mozambique strengthen and unite their experiences.It is our aim, in our critical thinking, to find, in the new ways of experiencing multiple border realities, a tangling of communities and their cultures.We would like to create bonds of solidarity capable of expanding across national borders as to reach the 'supranational'.The transcendent elements shown to the reader in the imaginary path nurture his actual living experience, making for possible changes in the future.We believe literature to be the ground on which culture thrives, empowering the human being, triggering understanding and transformation.