Candomblé – a very short overview

One of the African-derived religions in Brazil together with Umbanda, Xango, Batuque, Cantimbo, and Macumba, is Candomblé. It is most interesting for being a sort of a collection of various African religious traditions, especially those of Yoruba, Fon, and Banto ethnic groups.

In addition, it draws on Catholic faith, having integrated its teachings into its own interpretation, for example, the deities of the pantheon (orixás) are associated with Catholic saints. This is a bright example of syncretism – a blending of religions that occurred due to the need of slaves to hide their beliefs under the cover of Catholicism.

Brazil, colonized by the Portuguese, was one of the largest importers of African slaves and the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery. Most of the slaves brought to Brazil were from the region of Africa now called Nigeria. Africans brought their spiritual belief systems with them to the Americas. The only way to preserve these religions was to keep their practices hidden.

This is why in Brazil, the slaves used the images of Christian saints to stand for their original Gods, while the dieties themselves have not changed as they really got only the names but not the identities of the Catholic saints. For example, Oxossi, the orixá of hunting has become Saint George, and Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea, has become Our Lady of the Conception.

Today there are Candomblé priestesses in Bahia who reject the idea of syncretism. They recognize that it was a necessity for their enslaved African ancestors but that now it is no longer necessary to associate orixás with the saints. Meanwhile, the tradition continues, and it’s not odd, for example, for the practitioners to attend Catholic mass before going into a trance during a Candomblé ritual. In addition, because Candomblé is a blend of several African traditions, there are also other entities that belong to the Candomblé religion: the voduns of the Fon and Ewe (Jeje) nations, as well as the nkisis that come from the Bantu tribe.

  Each orixá is in fact a manifestations of Olodumaré – the Supreme God, creator of Earth, and is associated with a particular aspect of nature, such as earth, water, fire, and wind. It is this aspect of nature that gives the orixá his/her personality traits, an association to a specific color, day of the week, drumbeat, and food. These personalities are never good or bad, as they usually have a little bit of both, as do humans.

In fact, another aspect of the Candomblé faith is that it is not a dualistic religion, meaning practitioners don’t believe in the concepts of “good” or “evil,” but rather they believe that each person has a specific destiny that they must fulfill to their greatest capacity, whatever it might be. At the same time, if one does bad to others, it will return to him. It is also believed that each practitioner has a guiding spirit, an orixá which controls the practitioner’s destiny and is that person’s protector. The focus of Candomblé worship is the maintenance of a harmonious relationship between religious followers and the orixás.

Another important component of the Candomblé religion is having a relationship with one’s ancestors. Egungun is regarded as the collective spirit of ancestors who occupy space in Heaven, and the ancestors are called Ara Orun (Dwellers of Heaven). These ancestral spirits are believed to be in constant watch of their survivors on Earth whom they bless, protect, warn, and punish, depending on how their relatives neglect or remember them. They also protect the community against evil spirits, epidemics and evil doers, ensuring their well-being.

The spirits could be evoked collectively or individually, in time of need. The ancestral spirits may be invited to the Earth physically in masquerade, and such masquerades are referred to as Egungun or Ara Orun. It is believed that everyone has the power and ability to communicate with those who have passed through by remembering a deceased ancestor and referring to that memory for a role model in making life decisions.

Most of the Candomblé religious activities, such as healing, devotion, and initiation ceremonies, animal sacrifice, chanting, dancing, and spirits possessions, are carried out at terreiros, the holy houses. These activities are coordinated by a practitioner called babalorixa who are always male in Africa, but may be male and female in Brazil.

Candomblé is an oral tradition, so there are no scriptures to follow, and music and dance are very important for the adherents, as they allow them to go into trance and be possessed by the orixás. 

To become a member of this religious group one becomes linked to a one of the orixá through a special initiation ceremony. Even though the official number of people practicing this religion may be low, in fact there is a large number of people who are not initiated within the religion, but take part in the Candomblé celebrations and rituals and turn to traditional practitioners for health and personal issues.

Physical healing is central to Candomblé. The healing in this tradition is based on the idea that everything has a supernatural aspect to it, thus the diagnosis and cure is considered to be derived from spiritual sources, such as religious rituals. The use of plants for spiritual and medicinal purposes is fundamental to the practice of Candomblé.

The town of Cachoeira in Bahia is the center of Candomblé in Brazil. It is home to many of the oldest and most significant terreiros but more importantly the home of pioneering Candomblé thought and practice. Here Candomblé shows itself to be one of the most progressive forces in Brazilian society, with its matriarchal nature standing in contrast to both Catholicism and Brazilian society in general.

The ultimate concerns of Candomblé are the concrete issues of life—such as pain, poverty, unemployment and happiness—and its acceptance of people as they see or imagine themselves and affirmation of people’s own individual power, makes it fundamental in Brazilian culture.

1. Church of Candomblé http://churchofcandomble.com/2016/06/
2. Unit of Study on Candomblé. Brenda Guevara  http://lanic.utexas.edu/project/etext/llilas/outreach/fulbright04/Guevara_CandombleUnit.pdf 
3.  Sacred Leaves of Brazilian Candomble. Robert Voeks Geographical Review Vol. 80, No. 2 (Apr., 1990), pp. 118-131 https://www.jstor.org/stable/215476?seq=1
4. Combating Religious Prejudice. Afro-Caribbean. Tanenbaum.  https://tanenbaum.org/religion-at-work-resource/religions-of-the-world/afro-caribbean/