Chapter 11: Saudade: A Unique Feeling Within the Lusitanian Soul

Saudade—um mavioso nome que tâo meigo soas nos lusitanos labios [a melodious name that sounds so sweet on Lusitanian’s lips]—that is how Garrett (1858) describes this feeling in his poem, Camoes, a complex but omnipresent emotion in Lusitanian cultures. It is indeed a worldwide well-known word by persons originating from Lusitanian (e.g., Western Iberian, Brazilian, Cape-Verdean cultures) as well as from non-Lusitanian cultures.

The concept of saudade, its nature, and its components have largely been discussed as a crucial concept by Portuguese poets, writers, philosophers, and linguistics as well as by the general public (Lourenço, 1978; Vasconcelos, 1914). Nevertheless, little research has been done from a psychological perspective. Therefore, the aim of the present study will be to analyze the different emotional components of the phenomenon of saudade. The important features linked to the concept from Portuguese individuals’ point of view, living in Luxembourg, will specifically be investigated from a phenomenological standpoint. Another goal will be to compare different sociopolitical generations with migrant background (i.e., immigrants who migrated to the host country vs. those who were born in the host country from immigrant parents, i.e., Luso-descendants) to observe whether their conceptualization of the notion of saudade is notably different from one another.