Candomble (meaning dance in honor of the gods) is a religion found mainly in Brazil with a number of elements derived from African cultures. Not only does it incorporate some religious aspects of the Yoruba, Bantu, and Fon African societies, but it also gradually integrated some characteristics of Catholicism.
It can be argued that Candomble represents the syncretism that occurred after cultural interaction between Afro-descendants and Europeans. Although Candomble does not have sacred scriptures, the moving oral tradition has remained quite strong since its formation.
1. The Rise of Candomblé
Africans, who were transported to Brazil by the Portuguese between the 16th and 19th centuries through the slave trade, brought with them a plethora of cultures and philosophies. However, many of these spiritual beliefs were completely eradicated shortly after their arrival. Church leaders and slave owners encouraged Africans to convert to Christianity to fulfill their moral and religious obligation.
However, while fear of persecution meant that many of them succumbed entirely to the new religion imposed on them, others sought a connection between themselves. The Bantu Africans found a similar system of worship among the indigenous people of Brazil.
This connection led people to relearn other forms of ancestral worship and created several new religions. Although some have died out, Candomble is one of the practices created by displaced peoples.
Therefore, many Africans appeared to adhere to Catholicism while being devout practitioners of Candomble. During the early stages of their development, Africans in Brazil created Catholic fraternities but practiced Candomble in secret.
The reason was that they saw similarities between the saints and their deities but feared persecution, so the divine symbols of their gods were “hidden” behind the corresponding Catholic saints. Being partially faithful to Catholicism was also seen as a way to assimilate into the new society and minimize oppression.
Unfortunately, once Candomble came to the attention of church leaders and slave owners, there was a strong movement to eradicate the religious beliefs of its followers. Africans who continued the practice often faced tragic outcomes. Catholics considered Candomblé to be ungodly, and therefore incomprehensible, so they often attacked Afro-Brazilian churches.
To make matters worse, there were several “government-led public campaigns and police actions” (Omari-Tunkara, 2005) to instill further distress in the people. However, when a law requiring police permission to hold public ceremonies was repealed in the 1970s, the widespread oppression and abuse of Candomble practitioners ceased.
Oludumaré and the Orichas
At its core, the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomble is polytheistic, with adherents believing in a main god and lesser deities. The main god Oludumaré (also known as Olorun) is said to be “served” and accompanied by many lesser deities, the Orichas, also known as voduns and nkisis. The concept of Orichas derives from the Yoruba culture, the voduns of the Ewe and Fon peoples, and nkisis come from the Bantu nation of Congo.
There are currently over 400 Orichas included in the Candomble religion, and individually they are associated with particular natural forces, such as animals and food. Devotees of the religion believe that each individual has their own personal Orichas that protects them and is reflected in their personality; however, one must fulfill their own destiny and not just rely on the Orichas.
Collectively, the Orichas are called Egungun or Baba Egum. Baba Egum also regulates the moral principles of Candomble and is said to be responsible for continuing the generation of moral codes from generation to generation.
2. The terreiros
The sacred buildings for followers of Candomblé are terreiros or houses (i.e., temples or homes). These structures have internal and external parts that are used specifically for the povo do santo (people of the saints, followers of Candomblé), as well as shrines designated for the many gods.
Traditionally, the faithful must enter the terreiros in clean clothes and sprinkle their skin with water before arriving, to rid themselves of the impurities of the world and, ultimately, to satisfy the deities. The priests and priestesses within the terreiros dress as Baba Egum and lead the religious ceremonies.
According to Bastide, the first “official temple” (2001) was established in Bahia in the 19th century and has had a significant presence in the Brazilian city ever since. This may be due in part to the fact that Candomble temples also served as places for planning rebellions against church leaders and slave owners during their early stages of development.
In fact, the Candomble sect “Men” used to be the one to initiate revolts against their oppressors.
3. Candomble worship practices
In modern Candomble, one of the most significant aspects of worship includes music and dance. The Candomble mass includes celebration, “spirit possession” (Wafer, 1991), and animal sacrifice. Specific choreographed dancing occurs both to facilitate spirit possession and to keep practitioners entertained.
Candomblé ceremony.
Another interesting feature of the religion, according to Matory, is that Candomble can be considered “matriarchal” (2005), as women are considered “mothers of the saint.” Women often spiritually manage Candomble services and take on roles as apprentice priestesses for future services. In Candomble, women are highly respected members of the community.
As with most religions, gatherings and a sense of community are very important to followers of Candomblé. Practitioners of this faith believe that the congregation essentially allows for the integration of people and spirits. It is also seen as an opportunity for celebrations and recognition of important religious days.
4. Candomblé Today
Today, Candomble is quite popular and is celebrated widely in northeastern Brazil. Bahia, to be specific, welcomes people from various African countries each year to visit the churches and learn about the religion from the followers themselves.
Many believe that Candomblé is a force that has increased the recovery of cultural identity that was stripped from Afro-Brazilians due to the slave trade. In fact, some devotees are now trying to remove iconic Catholic images from worship, as they feel that Candomblé has been diluted over time to appease the government and the Catholic Church.
The vital purpose of these practitioners is to return Candomble to its purest form.
5. Terminology
Candomble is an oral tradition and has no sacred texts, and only recently have scholars and the “povo de santo” begun to write down their practices. Both words are believed to derive from a language of the Bantu family, mainly that of the Kingdom of Kongo.
6. History
From the early days of the slave trade, many slave owners and leaders of the Catholic Church felt it was important to convert African slaves. They believed this would fulfill their religious obligations and lead slaves to be more submissive in their status.
Some historians suggest that Africans were forced to abandon their traditional religions to sever their ties to their past. Although the Church was successful in many cases, not all slaves converted. Many outwardly practiced Christianity but prayed in secret to their own God, gods, or ancestral spirits.
In Brazil, followers of Candomblé saw similarities between Catholic veneration of saints and their own religion. Bantu followers found a shared system of worship with the indigenous peoples of Brazil, and through this connection they relearned the ancestor worship that was part of their own traditional systems.
They often hid the sacred symbols of their deities within the figures of their Catholic saints. In the country’s segregated communities, it was easy to create Catholic fraternities where slaves could gather with one another; however, these gatherings were an opportunity to practice Candomble worship and celebrate religious holidays; they were also opportunities for slaves to meet and plan rebellions against their masters.
Candomble was condemned by the Catholic Church. Followers of the faith were violently persecuted, including through public campaigns led by the government and police action. The repression of the African religion began in the early Portuguese colonial period, with the calundu (spiritual leaders) subject to the Inquisition.
The Brazilian Penal Code of 1850 condemned charlatanism (charlatanry) and curandeirismo (witchcraft). Both Candomblé religious leaders and terreiros were attacked by the police. With Catholicism as the state religion, other religious practices threatened secular authority.
The persecution stopped in the 1970s with the repeal of a law requiring police permission to hold public religious ceremonies. Since then, the religion has grown in popularity in Brazil, with up to two million people professing to follow this faith. It is particularly popular in Salvador, Bahia, in the northeastern region of Brazil, which is more isolated from other influences and had a high percentage of enslaved Africans.
Many people from African countries visit Bahia to learn more about the faith of their ancestors. For many followers, Candomble is not just a matter of religious belief, but also a claim to the cultural and historical identity of ethnic Africans, even though their separate tribal identities have been obscured by the mixing of peoples in communities during and after slavery.
The Candomblé nations
The division into nations was also influenced by religious and charitable brotherhoods (irmandades) organized by the Catholic Church among Brazilian slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries. These fraternities, organized along ethnic lines to allow priests to preach in the slaves’ native languages, provided a legitimate cover for slave meetings. Ultimately, they may have helped the development of Candomblé.
The following list is an approximate classification of the main nations and sub-nations, and their sacred languages:
Ketu or Queto; Yoruba language, known as Ioruba or Nago in Portuguese. Nago derives from anago, a derogatory term used by the Dahomey people to refer to Yoruba-speaking people, specifically those of Oyo heritage, many of whom were sold as slaves to Brazil.
7. Deities
Candomblé is a polytheistic religion and worships several gods: the orishas of the Yoruba (Ketu nation), spelled Orixas in Portuguese; the voduns of the Fon and Ewe (Jeje nation); and the nkisis (minkisi) of the Kongo (Bantu nation).
These deities are believed to have been created by a supreme god, Olodumare (called Zambi by the Kongo people and Nana Buluku by the Fon people). The orishas and similar figures form a link between the spiritual world and the human world.
Practitioners of Candomblé believe that each person has their own guardian deity who controls their destiny and acts as their protector. Each deity represents a certain force in nature and is associated with certain foods, colors, animals, and days of the week.
A person’s character or personality is strongly linked to their deity. Collectively, ancestors are called Egum in Brazil. During important ceremonies, priests and priestesses dress up as Baba Egum and perform specially choreographed dances to become possessed by the spirit of each ancestor.
The deities of one nation may be acculturated as “guests” in the homes and ceremonies of another nation, in addition to those of the latter. Some nations assign new names to the invited spirits, while others retain the names used in the nation of origin.
8. Concepts of good and evil
Candomble does not include the duality of a concept of good opposed to evil. Each person must only fulfill their destiny to the fullest in order to live a “good” life, regardless of what that destiny may be, although this is not a free pass to do whatever the practitioner wants.
Candomblé teaches that any harm a person causes to others will eventually return to the first person.
9. Syncretism
Candomblé includes a sect linked to Islam, which was more common during the era of slavery in Brazil. Many slaves from West Africa had been acculturated with Muslim traditions. These males reserve Fridays as a day of worship to the deities, just as Muslims do for prayer and meditation. The males were the instigators of many slave revolts in Brazil.
They carried out such actions dressed in white with amulets and skull caps, as in traditional Islam.
10. Rituals
The Candomblé ritual has two parts: the first is the “preparation,” attended only by priests and initiates, which can begin a week before an important ceremony. The second is the main event, a festive public “mass” and banquet that begins in the late afternoon and ends around midnight.
In the first part, initiates and assistants wash and iron the costumes for the ceremony and decorate the house with paper flags and garlands in the colors preferred by the Orichas being honored on that occasion. They also prepare the food for the banquet. Some domestic animals are sacrificed; some parts are reserved for the sacrifice, and the rest is prepared for the banquet.
On the day of the ceremony, beginning at dawn, shell divination (jogo de buzios) is performed, and sacrifices are offered to the desired Orichas and to the messenger spirit (Exú in Ketu).
In the public part of the ceremony, the “holy children” invoke and “incorporate” the Orichas, falling into a trance. After falling into a trance (which the women of the group also enter), the spirit priests perform dances symbolizing the attributes of the Orichas, while the babal Orichas or father of the saint (chief priest) leads the songs celebrating the actions of the spirit. The ceremony ends with a banquet.
Candomble music, an essential part of the ritual, derives from African music. The word batuque, for example, has entered the Brazilian vernacular as a synonym for “rhythmic percussion music.”
11. Temples and Priesthood
Candomble temples are called houses, plantations (rocas) or courtyards (terreiros). Most Candomble houses are small, independently owned and administered by the respective senior priests (women mae de santo or men pai de santo).
Some of the oldest and largest houses have a more institutional character and a more formal hierarchy. There is no central administration. Inside the place of worship are the altars of the Orichas or Pejis.
The Candomble priesthood is organized into symbolic families, whose members are not necessarily related in the usual sense. Each family owns and manages a house. In most Candomble houses, especially the larger ones, the head of the family is always a woman, the mãe-de-santo or ialOrichas (mother of the saint), assisted by the pai-de-santo or babal Orichas (father of the saint).
Priests and priestesses may also be known as babalaos (interpreters of búzios), babas, and babaloxas. Some houses have a more flexible hierarchy that allows the male pai-de-santo to be the chief priest.
Often, during the period of slavery, women became fortune tellers and healers; male slaves worked constantly and had no time to engage in daily practices. Or, when caring for children, women had the opportunity to teach the knowledge of their traditions to new generations.
Admission to the priesthood and progression in the hierarchy is conditional on the approval of the Orichas, possession of the necessary qualities, learning sacred knowledge, and participation in lengthy initiation rites, which last seven years or more.
There are generally two types of priesthood in the various Candomble nations: those who fall into a trance by the Orichas (iyawo) and those who do not (Oga-male/Ekeji-female). It is important not to confuse the meaning and use of the Yoruba term iyawò (bride in Yoruba) with other religions of African origin, which use this same term with different meanings.
The period of isolation for the initiation of an iyawó generally lasts 21 days in the Ketu nation, and varies depending on the nation. The role of the iyawó in the religion is assigned by a divination performed by their ialOrichas/babalOrichas. An iyawó may be assigned to care for neophytes during their initiation period of seclusion, become an expert in all Orichas foods, become an iya or babalOrichas, or learn all the ritual songs, etc.
Iyawos undergo a 7-year apprenticeship during which they offer periodic sacrifices to strengthen their initiation bonds, in the form of so-called “obligations” of 1, 3, and 7 years. In the seventh year, the iyawos obtain their title and may obtain an honorary title or a religious position (oye in Yoruba). Once the iyawó has fulfilled his seventh-year obligation, he becomes an elder within his religious family.
