Candomblé, << kahn dohm BLEH, >> is a set of religious practices that began among slaves in Brazil during the 1800’s. Most of these slaves were brought to Brazil from western Africa and forced to work on sugar plantations.
Candomblé is one of a group of religions, based mainly on African traditions, that developed in South America and the Caribbean. These religions are sometimes called “religions of the African diaspora.” Diaspora refers to the scattering of a group of people. Candomblé is based upon West African religions as slaves and their descendants in colonial Brazil remembered and reconstructed them. Other religions of the diaspora include Santería, originally from Cuba, and Vodou (sometimes called Voodoo) in Haiti. Today, many Brazilians of European, as well as African, descent practice Candomblé.
African religious practices have existed in Brazil since the 1500’s, when enslaved Africans first were taken there. By the early 1800’s, the practices of diverse African groups had combined to form the religion known as Candomblé. The philosophy and rituals of the Yoruba and Fon peoples of West Africa especially shaped the religion. Traditions from Angola also were important in Candomblé’s development. In addition, slaves in Brazil adopted ideas and practices from Roman Catholicism, brought to Brazil by the Portuguese in the 1500’s.
People who practice Candomblé revere a group of beings called orixás (also spelled orishas). Orixás are divine but humanlike. They serve as a link between human beings and a distant, higher god. Orixás redistribute axé, the power of the natural world. During colonial times, followers of Candomblé associated each orixá with a specific Catholic saint. For example, they identified Xangô, the orixá of justice and lightning, with Saint Jerome. Followers of Candomblé make sacrifices to the orixás. They also hold ceremonies during which, according to their own understanding, orixás take over their bodies and dance among them, blessing all who are present. Temples of Candomblé, known as terreiros, hold rituals that involve 12 to 20 different orixás whose celebrations are spread over the course of a year.
One of the most important orixás is Oxalá, the patient and just orixá associated with the sky, creation, and purity. There are also orixás of the air, the earth, plants, and the sea. Often, these orixás also are associated with human roles such as that of king, mother, warrior, hunter, or messenger.
See also Santería ; Syncretism ; Vodou ; Yoruba .
