This post is also on:
Português
English

Afro-Brazilian religions, slavery brought into contact the religions of different African peoples, who ended up assimilating and exchanging similar elements of their cultures.
In this way, rites of different origins overlapped and merged into a common amalgam from which the Afro-Brazilian religions emerged.
Candomblé is one of the best known Afro-Brazilian relig ions throughout the country, and its pantheon is made up of orishas, inquices and voduns, deities from the Yoruba, Bantu and Jeje peoples, respectively.
Afro-Brazilian religions are given different names depending on the place and model of their rites.
In the north-east there is the tambor-de-mina from Maranhão, the xangô from Pernambuco and the candomblé from Bahia.
In Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, umbanda and candomblé prevail, and in the south, batuque from Rio Grande do Sul. This highlights the African continuities and transformations in Afro-Brazilian religions.
From a historical perspective, all these forms of religiosity were seen by the European and Christian colonisers as dangerous expressions of idolatry and sin, to be extirpated by conversion, in order to guarantee slaves the salvation of their souls.
Even today, this view persists, associating Afro-Brazilian religious expressions such as candomblé and umbanda with demonic rites of witchcraft.
In the Afro-Brazilian religions, Candomblé and Umbanda have a strong presence in the country, especially in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul and Bahia.
In 1991, there were almost 650,000 followers, according to the IBGE census. Scholars of these religions estimate that almost a third of the Brazilian population attends a centre.
This figure includes both regular and sporadic centre-goers, who are often linked to other religions as well.
Video on the history of Afro-Brazilian religions
Religiões afro-brasileiras
Religiões afro-brasileiras - Documentário09:39
História, mitos e verdades sobre a religião Umbanda
7 DIFERENÇAS ENTRE UMBANDA E CANDOMBLÉ06:27
History and Origin of Afro-Brazilian Religions
1. Candomblé
Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion derived from traditional African cults, in which there is belief in a Supreme Being (Olorum, Avievodun or Nzambi, depending on the nation) and worship directed at forces of nature personified in the form of divinised ancestors: orixás, voduns or inquices, depending on the nation.
Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion derived from traditional African cults, in which there is belief in a Supreme Being (Olorum, Avievodun or Nzambi, depending on the nation) and worship directed at forces of nature personified in the form of divinised ancestors: orishas, voduns or inquices, depending on the nation.
Afro-Brazilian religion that worships the orixás, gods of the Yoruba-speaking African nations, endowed with human feelings such as jealousy and vanity.
Candomblé arrived in Brazil between the 16th and 19th centuries with the trade in black slaves from West Africa.
It suffered great repression from the Portuguese colonisers, who considered it witchcraft.
To survive the persecution, followers began to associate the orishas with Catholic saints, in religious syncretism. For example, Iemanjá is associated with Our Lady of the Conception; Iansã, with St Barbara, etc.
The ceremonies take place in temples called territories. Their preparation is closed and often involves the sacrifice of small animals.
They are celebrated in the African language and marked by chants and the rhythm of the atabaques (drums), which vary according to the orisha being honoured.
In Brazil, the religion honours only 16 of the more than 300 orishas that exist in West Africa.
Initially repressed by slave society, the Catholic Church, the state and rejected by society, candomblé (like other African cults), ‘formed, until the mid-20th century, a kind of institution of cultural resistance, firstly of Africans, and then of Afro-descendants […] much has changed, making these religions organisations of worship detached from ethnic, racial, geographical and social class ties’. In this way, the cultural elements that make up candomblé are now an integral part of Brazilian folk culture.
Candomblé should not be confused with Umbanda or other Afro-Brazilian and Afro-American religions with similar origins (tambor de mina, omolokô, Pernambuco xangô or Brazilian batuque; Haitian vodou, Cuban santería, Jamaican obeah and kumina, Surinamese winti, among others), which were developed independently of Candomblé and are virtually unknown in Brazil.
2. Umbanda
ABrazilian religion born in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s from a mixture of African and European beliefs and rituals.
Umbanda’s roots can be found in two religions brought from Africa by the slaves: Cabula, of the Bantu, and Candomblé, of the Nagô nation.
Umbanda considers the universe to be populated by spiritual entities, the guides, who come into contact with humans through an initiate (the medium), who embodies them. These guides present themselves through figures such as the caboclo, the preto-velho and the pomba-gira.
African elements are mixed with Catholicism, creating the identification of orishas with saints.
Another influence is Kardecist spiritism, which believes in the possibility of contact between the living and the dead and in spiritual evolution after successive lives on Earth. It also incorporates indigenous rites and European magical practices.
National Umbanda Day is celebrated on 15 November and is an opportunity both for Umbanda practitioners to commemorate the date and for people of other faiths to understand more about this Brazilian religious manifestation. Find out below how it came about and what the principles of Umbanda are.
Umbanda emerged in 1908, on 15 November, through a medium called Zélio Fernandino Moraes, with the guidance of the spirit who identified himself as Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, in Niterói, in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
It can be said that Umbanda is a spiritualist doctrine that, like Spiritism, believes in the survival of the Spirit and communication with the spiritual plane.
In addition, the formation of Umbanda is influenced by Brazilian religious culture such as Catholicism, Spiritism, indigenous rituals and Afro-Brazilian sects, especially Candomblé.
Its founder, Zélio Fernandino Moraes, organised a doctrine with its own concepts, differentiating the new religion from Candomblé and other Afro-inspired sects existing at the time.
In Umbanda there are spirit guides, entities such as caboclos, pombagiras and exus. And in the services, the songs are sung in Portuguese, always accompanied by atabaques. The atmosphere of Umbanda is generally smoky, and there are male and female musicians.
3. Divisions of Afro-descendant religions
Until the 1940s, Afro-Brazilian religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda were severely persecuted by the authorities.
Religious practices that claimed to be of African descent or that showed similarities to these cults faced police repression, with the closure of their centres and terreiros and the imprisonment of those responsible.
This persecution was based on racial and religious prejudice, and the practices were often considered ‘sorcery’ or ‘witchcraft’ by the colonial authorities and later by the republican government.
The situation began to improve in 1945, thanks to the efforts of José Álvares Pessoa, a medium and leader of one of the seven Umbanda houses existing at the time, all founded under the guidance of the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas.
José Álvares Pessoa was fundamental in the fight to legalise Umbanda cults.
Through his work with the National Congress, he managed to get Umbanda officially recognised, which allowed for a reduction in persecution and greater freedom for religious practice.
With the police repression of Afro-Brazilian cults, many religious groups that did not follow the strict rules of the founder of the Umbandist Doctrine began to call themselves Umbandists in an attempt to escape the repression.
This period was marked by major changes and losses for the religion, which had its essence and practices altered significantly.
These transformations contributed to the division of thoughts and interpretations within Umbanda, resulting in a plurality of practices and a fragmentation that continues to this day.
Although this diversity has enriched the religion in some respects, it has also brought challenges for the preservation of its original identity and doctrine.
1 White Table
Umbanda has had and still has its moments of persecution and segregation, but it has managed to overcome some of these obstacles, although there is still a lot of prejudice and even violence against Umbanda terreiros.
However, a few decades ago, Umbandistas saw a way to avoid prejudice.
As Spiritism was, in a way, accepted in Catholic society even before Umbanda, it served as an escape route so that Umbanda groups weren’t so marginalised.
In practice, history repeated itself. As Umbanda served as a support for Afro groups in the past, Umbandistas, in order to avoid persecution and prejudice, started calling themselves Spiritists.
This may be one of the reasons why some people confuse followers of the Spiritist doctrine with those who are Umbandists or even Candomblecists.
2. Resistance of the African people
On this International Umbanda Day, it’s also important to remember the struggle of the people who inspired this religious manifestation.
The African people arrived in Brazil without any rights or minimally humane conditions. They lost their freedom, but not their culture.
And if the diversity in their homelands was already immense, imagine landing in a totally different reality.
Thus, the dancing, singing, speaking, dressing and producing that were transferred to this side of the Atlantic Ocean had to adapt or merge with new habits.
Repressed, the slaves were unable to maintain their religious practices in isolation. Each tribe had its own form of God, cults, rituals and symbols.
Thus, if the imposition of Catholicism tried to extinguish beliefs, the solution was to syncretise the Orixás in the guise of saints, the result of which was the genesis of religions such as Candomblé and Umbanda.
This syncretism performed by both Umbanda and Candomblé has many followers in Brazil, not to mention other variations that have added indigenous rites and other European magical practices. However, in the social imagination, African polytheism is still viewed superficially.
3. Postulates of Umbanda
According to the Brazilian Umbanda Federation, there are some principles of the religion.
These include the existence of a creative principle – God, the Omnipotent and Irrepresentable, as well as the existence of spiritual entities, messengers of the vibrations of the Orixás, who are still evolving and seeking to perfect themselves.
In addition, Umbandists believe in reincarnation, the Law of Karma and practise mediumship in its various manifestations, as well as love, manifested as charity, in word and deed.
Finally, Umbanda also believes that man lives in a vibratory field, which he commands through his free will, within the principle of the triune nature: spirit, soul and body.
4. The difference between Umbanda and Candomblé
Umbanda and Candomblé are two Afro-Brazilian religions that share African roots, but have marked differences in their practices, beliefs and ritual structure. Below, I’ll highlight the main differences between the two:
1. Origins and Influences
- Umbanda: It emerged at the beginning of the 20th century in Rio de Janeiro, with a strong influence from Kardecist Spiritism, Catholicism, indigenous rituals and European magical practices, as well as African traditions, mainly from Cabula and Candomblé. Umbanda is a syncretic religion that mixes elements from various traditions, focussing on communication with spirits through mediums.
- Candomblé: This is the oldest, with direct roots in traditional African religions, especially the Nagô (Yoruba), Bantu and Jeje nations. It arrived in Brazil with the African slaves and has remained faithful to its ancestral rituals and beliefs, with less influence from other religions. Candomblé preserves its traditions, languages and cults of orishas, voduns and inquices.
2. Entities and Deities
- Umbanda: Cultivates mainly spiritual entities such as caboclos, pretos-velhos, children (erês), pombagiras and exus. African deities (orixás) are also venerated, but are often syncretised with Catholic saints.
- Candomblé: Focuses exclusively on the worship of orixás, voduns and inquices, deities that represent forces of nature and divinised ancestors. There is no compulsory religious syncretism, and each deity has its own specific rituals, colours, foods and songs.
3. Rituals and Practices
- Umbanda: Rituals are generally performed in Portuguese and involve chanting, smoking, praying and the incorporation of spirits. Ceremonies are open to the public and focus on spiritual consultation and counselling, with mediums incorporating guides to assist the faithful.
- Candomblé: Performs complex rituals in African languages (Yoruba, Fon, among others) and follows a strict calendar of festivals, offerings and sacrifices to the orixás. The rituals, called toques or obligations, involve dances, chants and offerings, and are carefully planned and restricted in some phases to initiates only.
4. Philosophy and Spiritual Vision
- Umbanda: Believes in spiritual evolution through various reincarnations and constant communication with the spirit world. The practice is guided by charity, with an emphasis on helping one’s neighbour and the mediumistic development of the adepts.
- Candomblé: Focuses on balance and a direct relationship with the orixás, seeking to please these deities in order to obtain health, protection and prosperity. The philosophy revolves around respect for ancestral traditions and the fulfilment of rituals according to the precepts of the religion.
5. Structure and Organisation of Temples
- Umbanda: Temples are called terreiros or centres, led by fathers or mothers of saints, also known as spiritual leaders. The organisation is more flexible and adaptable.
- Candomblé: It has a more rigid hierarchical structure, with temples called terreiros, led by a babalorixá (father of saints) or ialorixá (mother of saints). The positions and functions within the terreiro are well defined, and initiation is a long and complex process.
6. Religious syncretism
- Umbanda: Highly syncretic, mixing elements of Catholicism, Spiritism, indigenous and African traditions.
- Candomblé: Remains closer to African traditions, with less syncretism and a greater focus on preserving the original culture and rituals.
In short, although both religions share African roots and the belief in spirits and deities, Umbanda is more open, syncretic and orientated towards spiritual communication, while Candomblé preserves its African traditions and rituals more rigorously, with a more specific focus on the cult of the orixás and their respective liturgies.
History of Afro-Brazilian religions