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Candomblé

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Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion practised chiefly in Brazil but also in adjacent countries. The religion came from Africa to Brazil, carried by African priests who were brought as slaves between the mid-1500s and the mid-1800s.

Although originally confined to the slave population, banned by the Catholic church, and even criminalized by some governments, candomblé thrived over four centuries, and expanded considerably since the end of slavery (mid-1800s). It is now a major established religion, with followers from all social classes and tens of thousands of temples. In recent surveys, about 3 million Brazilians (1.5% of the total population) have declared candomblé as their religion. However, in Brazilian culture religions are not seen as mutually exclusive, and many people of other faiths — up to 70 million, according to some Afro-Brazilian cultural organizations — participate in candomblé rituals, regularly or occasionally. Candomblé deities, rituals, and holidays are now an integral part of Brazilian folklore.

Candomblé should be distinguished from Umbanda and Macumba, two other Afro-Brazilian religions with similar origins; and from similar African-derived religions in other New World countries, such as Haitian Voodoo, Cuban Santería, and Obeah, which developed independently of Candomblé and are virtually unknown in Brazil.

Nations

Brazilian slaves came from a number of ethnic groups, including Yoruba, Ewe-fon, and Bantu. As the religion developed semi-independently in different regions of the coutry, among different ethnic groups, it evolved into several "sects" or nations (nações), distinguished chiefly by the set of worshipped deities, and the language used in the rituals.

The following list is a rough classification of the major nations and sub-nations, their formative regions, and their sacred languages:


Beliefs

Candomblé is a form of spiritualism and worships a number of gods or spirits, derived from African deities: the Orishas of Yoruba mythology, spelled Orixás in Portuguese; the Voduns of the Ewe-fon; and the Inkices of the Bantu. These were created by a supreme God, the Olorun (Olorum) of the Yoruba.

Candomblé retained only a dozen or so of the hundreds of deities still worshiped in Africa. The pantheons of different nations overlap to a large extent, i.e. many Ketu Orixás can be identified with Jejé Voduns and Banto Inkices, although the names can be very different.

Orixás have individual personalities, skills, and ritual preferences, and are connected to specific natural phenomena (a concept not very dissimilar from the Kami of japanese Shintoism). Every person is chosen at birth by a "patron" Orixá, which a priest will identify. Orixás (but not Olorum) are "incorporated" by priests during candomblé rites.


Over the centuries candomblé has incorporated many elements from Christianism. Crucifixes may be displayed in candomblé temples, and Orixás were often identified with specific Catholic saints. This historical development was in part a reaction to Church-inspired persecution by authorities and slave owners, who viewed candomblé as paganism and witchcraft. However, some candomblé rites have also incorporated local indian gods, which are just as pagan as the Orixás — so persecution may not be the only reason for candomblé's syncretism.

In recent years, there has arisen a "fundamentalist" movement in candomblé that rejects the Christian elements and seeks to recreate a "pure" candomblé based exclusively on African elements.

Rituals

The candomblé ritual (toque) has two parts: the preparation, attended only by priests and initiates, which starts in the early morning and lasts through the whole day; and a festive public "mass" that starts in the late evening and ends around midnight. In the first part, sacrifices are offered to the Orixás, while aides prepare food for the public part. In the public part, each child-of-saint (mediunic priest) invokes and "incorporates" an Orixá, falling into a trance-like state. After recovering from the trance, the priest performs a symbolic dance recalling the Orixá's attributes. The cerimony ends with a banquet.

Candomblé music, an essential part of the ritual, derives from African music and has had a strong influence in other popular (non-religious) Brazilian music styles.

Temples and priesthood

Candomblé temples are called houses (casas), which are independently owned and administered by the respective head priests. There is no central administration.

Candomblé priesthood is organized into symbolic families, whose members are not necessarily relatives in the common sense. Each family owns and manages one house. The head of a family is always a woman, the mother-of-saint (ialorixá in Ketu), seconded by the father-of-saint (babalorixá).

Progression in the hierarchy is conditioned to learning and performance of lengthy initiation rites. Upon the death of a ialorixá, the successor is chosen, usually among her daughters, largely by means of a divinatory cowrie shell game. However the succession may be very disputed or may fail to find a successor, and often leads to splitting or closing down of the house. Only two or three houses in Brazil have seen their 100th aniversary.

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