Candomblé

Candomblé is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century that arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially those of the Yoruba, Bantu, and Gbe, and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of Candomblé, which is organized around autonomous terreiros (houses). Candomblé has no fixed ethical precepts that practitioners are expected to follow, but its teachings impact the lives of its adherents. Rather than stressing a dichotomy between good and evil, emphasis is placed on achieving harmony between competing forces. Candomblé worships spirits, orixás, inkice, or vodun, which serve to a transcendent creator god called Oludumaré. The names and attributes of these deities are based on traditional West African models. The orixás are also linked with Roman Catholic saints. Every person is beleived to possess a tutelary orixá who connected to them before they were born and who influences their personality. Candomblé's members usually gather in terreiros run by a mâe de santo (priestess) or pai de santo (priest). Ritual involves the mâe de santo and pai de santo drumming, singing, and dancing to encourage an orixá to possess one of their members, with whom congregants can then interact. The orixás are given offerings like fruit and sacrificed animals. Their will is deciphered through divination. Offerings may also be given to lesser spirits, including caboclos (indigenous Brazilian deities and spirits) and the spirits of the dead, the egun. Healing rituals and the preparation of amulets and herbal remedies are also important duties the priests and priestesses of Candomblé perform. Following Brazil's independence from Portugal, the constitution of 1891 guaranteed freedom of religion, although Candomblé remained marginalized by the Roman Catholic establishment which associated it with crime and criminals. In the 20th century, growing emigration from Bahia (fourth largest Brazilian state and birthplace of Candomblé) spread the religion both throughout Brazil and abroad. Candomblé also influenced the development of another religion, Umbanda, which was formed in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s. A variety of Umbandist groups exists. Som emphasize their connection to Spiritism, a French variant of Spiritualism. Others highlight their ties with Afro-Brazilian religions like Candomblé. Anthropologist Diana Brown notes that the boundary separating Umbanda from Candomblé is largely "a matter of individual opinion."  Omolocô was founded in Rio de Janeiro as an intermediate religion that merges the beliefs of Candomblé and Umbanda. Candomblé divides into traditions known as nacões (nations). Each nation is influenced by a different African language group and possesses its own lexicon, chants, deities, sacred objects, and traditional knowledge. Although originating due to ethnic differences, this basis has largely eroded. Members can be drawn to a nation for reasons other than their ethnicity. Since the late 20th century, some practitioners, leaders of Candomblé have asvocated a re-Africanization process to remove Roman Catholic influences and create forms of worship that are closer to those of traditional West African religion.