Candomblé
Candomblé is the Afro-Brazilian religion of Yoruba, Bantu and Fon origin, brought by enslaved Africans to Brazil between the 16th and 19th centuries. Centred on the worship of the Orixás (deities), it is one of the most preserved African religions in the Americas, with millions of practitioners especially in the Brazilian Northeast (Bahia).
Origin and history
Candomblé crystallised in colonial Brazil from the 18th-19th centuries, when enslaved Africans of multiple ethnicities (Yoruba/Nagô, Fon/Jeje, Bantu/Angola) began to organise religious communities (terreiros) where to preserve and adapt their original traditions. The first official terreiro was the Casa Branca do Engenho Velho, founded in Salvador de Bahia around 1830 — still active today.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, Candomblé suffered severe persecution by colonial authorities and Brazilian Catholic government. Public expression was forbidden until well into the 20th century. To survive, the practitioners developed syncretism with Catholicism: each Orixá was associated with a Catholic saint (Iemanjá with the Virgin of the Conception, Oxalá with Jesus Christ, Xangô with Saint Jerome, etc.), allowing public devotion under Catholic appearance while maintaining the African essence.
Branches and practice
Major branches: Candomblé Ketu/Nagô (Yoruba origin, the most numerous and influential), Candomblé Jeje (Fon origin, of present-day Benin), Candomblé Angola (Bantu origin). Each one with its specific deities, ritual languages (Yoruba, Fon, Kimbundu), liturgical music. The cult is structured around the terreiro: physical-spiritual community led by a babalorixá (priest) or iyalorixá (priestess), with initiated members of different hierarchical degrees.
Central practices: 1) Worship of the Orixás — each devotee has a personal "head Orixá" (orixá de cabeça) revealed through divination, and is initiated into his/her service through long process. 2) Ceremonies with sacred drumming and trance dances — public rituals where initiates "receive" their Orixá in trance and dance with their characteristic features. 3) Divination with cowries (Diloggún, called jogo de búzios). 4) Animal offerings and ritual food. 5) Spiritual healing and protection through the Orixás.
Also known as
- Macumba (popular term)
- Yoruba religion in Brazil
- Afro-Brazilian terreiro