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Umbanda, due to its origins, is a genuinely Brazilian religion.
Umbanda is a Brazilian religion that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century, characterised by a mixture of elements of spiritism, Afro-Brazilian cults, indigenous traditions and Catholic influences.
It seeks to promote charity, peace and harmony between human beings, emphasising the connection with the spirit world.
Main characteristics of Umbanda
- Syncretism: It combines various religious traditions, welcoming spirits from different origins, such as Catholic saints, Afro-Brazilian entities (such as Orixás) and indigenous spirits.
- Mediumship: Mediums play a central role, serving as intermediaries between the spirit world and practitioners. They incorporate spirits who guide and help people.
- Worship and rituals: Ceremonies usually include chants, dances, prayers and offerings, creating an atmosphere of celebration and spiritual connection.
- Doctrine: Umbanda teaches the importance of charity, spiritual evolution and love of neighbour, seeking to heal and protect individuals.
Umbanda has diversified over the years, giving rise to various currents and practices, but always maintaining its focus on spirituality and the promotion of well-being.
Founding of Umbanda
Umbanda was founded in Brazil at the beginning of the 20th century, in 1908, by a medium called Zélio Fernandino de Moraes.
He received guidance from a spirit called Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, who became his spiritual guide.
While seeking an understanding of spirituality, Zélio had a mediumistic experience that led him to create a new belief system that combined elements of spiritism, Afro-Brazilian cults, and indigenous and Catholic traditions.
This new religion sought to promote charity and unity between different spiritual currents.
First Umbanda Houses
The first Umbanda houses sprang up soon after its foundation. Some of the most notable include:
- Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Piedade – Founded in 1908 in Rio de Janeiro, this is considered one of the first Umbanda houses.
- Tenda Espírita da Umbanda – Also in Rio de Janeiro, where Zélio and other mediums worked.
- Casa de Umbanda de Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas – Located in the Olaria neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro, this was one of the most important places for the practice of the new religion.
Umbanda grew rapidly, spreading to different regions of Brazil and diversifying into various branches and practices.
HISTÓRIA DA ORIGEM E FUNDAÇÃO DA UMBANDA
- How Umbanda was founded;
- Who were the Medium and the Guide who founded it;
- What were the first Umbanda Houses founded in Brazil.
At the end of 1908, Zélio Fernandino de Moraes, a young boy of 17 who was preparing to enter the military career in the Navy, began to suffer strange ‘attacks’.
His family, well-known and traditional in the town of Neves, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, was taken by surprise by the events.
The boy’s ‘attacks’ were characterised by the posturing of an old man, saying nonsensical and disconnected things, as if he were someone else who had lived in another era. He often took on a form that resembled that of a swift and resourceful feline, who showed that he knew many things about nature.
After examining him for several days, the family doctor recommended that he should be referred to a priest, because the doctor (who was the patient’s uncle ) said that the boy’s madness didn’t fit in with anything he had ever known.
He thought the boy was possessed by a demon. Someone in the family suggested that ‘this was spiritism’ and that it would be better to take him to the Niterói Spiritist Federation, presided over at the time by José de Souza. On 15 November, the young Zélio was invited to take part in the session, taking a seat at the table.
Taken by a strange force beyond his control, and contrary to the rules that prevented anyone from leaving the table, Zélio stood up and said: ‘There’s a flower missing here’.
He left the room, went to the garden and returned with a flower, which he placed in the centre of the table. This attitude caused a huge uproar among those present.
Once the work was resumed, the Kardecist mediums manifested spirits who claimed to be black slaves and Indians. The director of the work thought it was absurd and warned them harshly, citing their ‘spiritual backwardness’ and inviting them to leave.
After this incident, a strange force once again seized the young Zélio and spoke through him: “Why do you reject the presence of these spirits if you haven’t even deigned to listen to their messages? Is it because of their social origins and colour?”
A heated dialogue ensued, and those in charge of the séance tried to indoctrinate and drive away the unknown spirit, who was developing a confident argument.
A clairvoyant medium asked:
“Why does the brother speak in these terms, pretending that the management accepts the manifestation of spirits who, given the degree of culture they had when incarnate, are clearly backward? Why does he speak in this way, when I can see that I’m addressing a Jesuit at the moment and his white garment reflects an aura of light? And what is your name, brother?”
‘If you want a name, let it be this: I am the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, because for me there will be no closed paths.’
“What you see in me are the remains of a previous existence. I was a priest and my name was Gabriel Malagrida. Accused of witchcraft, I was sacrificed at the stake of the Inquisition in Lisbon in 1761. But in my last physical existence, God granted me the privilege of being born as a Brazilian caboclo.”
He also announced the type of mission he was carrying from the Astral realm:
“If you think the spirits of blacks and Indians are backward, I have to tell you that tomorrow (16 November) I will be at my device’s house at 8pm to start a service in which these brothers will be able to give their messages and thus fulfil the mission that the Spiritual Plane has entrusted to them. It will be a religion that speaks to the humble, symbolising the equality that must exist between all brothers and sisters, incarnate and discarnate.”
The seer replied: ‘Do you think that someone will attend your cult?’ he asked ironically. And the already identified spirit said:
‘Every hill in Niterói will act as a spokesperson, announcing the cult that I will start tomorrow.’
To finalise, the caboclo added:
“God, in his infinite Goodness, has established death as the great universal leveller. Rich or poor, powerful or humble, everyone would become equal at death, but you prejudiced men, not content with establishing differences between the living, seek to take those same differences even beyond the barrier of death. Why can’t these humble workers from outer space visit us if, although they weren’t socially important people on Earth, they also bring important messages from beyond?”
The next day, at the Moraes family home, at 30 Floriano Peixoto Street, as the appointed time approached, 8pm, the members of the Spiritist Federation were already gathered there to verify the veracity of what had been said the day before. There were close relatives, friends, neighbours and, outside, a crowd of strangers.
At 8pm, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas manifested. He declared that at that moment a new cult was beginning, in which the spirits of old Africans who had served as slaves and who, disincarnated, could not find a field of action in the remnants of the black sects, already distorted and directed in their entirety towards witchcraft work, and the native Indians of our land could work for the benefit of their incarnate brothers and sisters, whatever their colour, race, creed or social condition.
The practice of charity, in the sense of brotherly love, would be the main characteristic of this cult, which would be based on the Gospel of Jesus.
The Caboclo established the rules under which the cult would take place. Sessions, as the periods of spiritual work would be called, would be held daily from 8pm to 10pm; participants would be dressed in white and the service would be free of charge. He also gave the name of the religious movement that was beginning: UMBANDA – Manifestation of the Spirit for Charity.
The house of spiritual work that was now being founded was given the name of Our Lady of Mercy, because just as Mary welcomed her son in her arms, all those who needed help or comfort would be welcomed as her children. Having laid the foundations of the cult, after answering the questions of the priests present in Latin and German, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas moved on to the practical part of the work.
The caboclo attended to a paralysed man, who was cured. He went on to attend other people who were there, practising his cures. That same day, he incorporated an old black man called Pai Antônio, who, with a soft voice, was mistaken for madness by his apparatus and with words of great wisdom and humility and apparent shyness, refused to sit with those present at the table saying the following words:
‘Nêgo num sentar não meu sinhô, nêgo fica aqui mesmo. This is a white man’s thing and nêgo must respect it.’
After insistence from those present, he said: ‘No need to worry. Nêgo fica no toco que é lugar di nego.’
He went on to say other words representing his humility. Someone at the meeting asked him if he missed anything he had left on the land and he replied:
‘My caximba. Nêgo wants the pito he left in the stump. Send mureque to fetch it.’
Such a statement left those present perplexed, as they were witnessing the request for the first element of labour for this religion.
Pai Antonio was also the first entity to request a guide, which is still used today by members of the Tenda and is affectionately called ‘Pai Antonio’s Guide’.
The following day, a veritable pilgrimage formed in Floriano Peixoto Street. Thesick, the blind, etc. came in search of healing and found it there, in the name of Jesus. Mediums, whose mediumistic manifestation had been considered madness, left the sanatoriums and demonstrated their exceptional qualities.
From then on, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas began to work incessantly to clarify, spread and consolidate the Umbanda religion.
As well as Pai Antônio, he had the Caboclo orixá Malé as an assistant, an entity with great experience in dismantling low magic works.
In 1918, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas received orders from the Higher Astral to found seven tents for the propagation of Umbanda.
The organisations were given the following names:
- Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Guia
- Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Conceição
- Tenda Espírita Santa Bárbara
- Tenda Espírita São Pedro
- Tenda Espírita Oxalá
- Tenda Espírita São Jorge
- Tenda Espírita São Gerônimo
While Zélio was incarnate, more than 10,000 tents were founded from those mentioned.
Although he didn’t pursue the military career for which he was preparing, because his mediumistic mission didn’t allow it, Zélio Fernandino de Moraes never made religion his profession.
He worked to support his family and several times contributed financially to the temples founded by the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, as well as to the people who stayed at his house for spiritual treatments, which they say was like a hostel.
He never accepted monetary help from anyone, it was his chief guide’s order, even though he was offered it countless times.
Ministers, industrialists and military personnel who turned to Zélio ‘s mediumistic power to cure their sick relatives and saw them recover, tried to repay the benefit with gifts or large cheques.
‘Don’t accept them. Give them back!’ the Caboclo always ordered.
Regarding the use of the term spiritist and the names of Catholic saints in the tents founded, this was due to the fact that at that time the name Umbanda could not be registered, and as for the names of saints, it was a way of establishing a point of reference for Catholic believers who sought the services of Umbanda.
The ritual established by the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas was very simple, with low, harmonious chants, white clothing and a ban on animal sacrifices. He dispensed with atabaques and clapping. Helmets, swords, headdresses, coloured clothing, lace and lamé were not accepted.
The guides used are only those that determine the entity manifesting.
Herbal baths, amakis, concentration in the vibrating environments of nature, along with doctrinal teaching based on the Gospel, would constitute the main elements of the medium’s preparation.
The ritual was always simple. Animal sacrifices were never allowed.
They didn’t use atabaques or any other objects or props. Atabaques began to be used over time by some of the Tendas founded by the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, but the Tenda Nossa Senhora da Piedade does not use them in its ritual to this day.
After 55 years at the head of the Tenda Nossa Senhora da Piedade (1 Umbanda temple), Zélio handed over the direction of the work to his daughters Zélia and Zilméa, continuing, alongside his wife Isabel, a medium of the Caboclo Roxo, to work at the Cabana de Pai Antônio, in Boca do Mato, a district of Cachoeiras de Macacu – RJ, dedicating most of the hours of his day to assisting patients with psychic illnesses and all those who sought him out.
In 1971, Mrs Lilia Ribeiro, director of TULEF (Tenda de Umbanda Luz, Esperança, Fraternidade – RJ), recorded a message from Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, which reflects the humility and high level of evolution of this entity of great light. Here it is:
‘Umbanda has progressed and will progress. There needs to be sincerity, honesty, and I always warn my companions of many years: the vile coin will harm Umbanda; mediums who will sell themselves and who will later be expelled, just as Jesus expelled the peddlers from the temple. The danger of the male medium is the female consulter; the danger of the female medium is the male consulter. We must always be on guard, because the very obsessors who try to attack our houses make sure that something touches the heart of the woman who speaks to the father of the terreiro, as well as the heart of the man who speaks to the mother of the terreiro. There needs to be a lot of morale for Umbanda to progress, to be strong and cohesive. Umbanda is humility, love and charity – this is our banner.
At this moment, my brothers, I am surrounded by various spirits who work in Umbanda in Brazil: Caboclos of Oxossi, Ogum and Xangô. I, however, am from the phalanx of Oxossi, my father, and I didn’t come by chance, I brought an order, a mission. My brothers: be humble, have love in your hearts, love from brother to brother, because your mediumship will become purer, serving the higher spirits who come to descend among you; the apparatus must always be clean, the instruments in tune with the virtues that Jesus preached here on Earth, so that we have good communications and protection for those who come to seek help in the houses of Umbanda.
My brothers: my device is already old, with 80 years to go, but it started before I was 18. I can say that I helped him get married, so that he wouldn’t be banging his head, so that he would be a usable medium and that, through his mediumship, I could implant our Umbanda. Most of those who work in Umbanda, if they haven’t passed through this Tenda, have passed through those who left this House. I have one thing to ask you: if Jesus came to planet Earth in the humility of a manger, it wasn’t by chance. That’s how the Father determined it. He could have sought out the home of a powerful man of the time, but he chose the one who was to be his mother, this spirit who would come to trace the steps to peace, health and happiness for humanity.
May the birth of Jesus, the humility that he brought down to earth, serve as examples, enlightening your spirits, removing the darkness of evil by thought or practice; may God forgive the evil that may have been thought, so that peace may reign in your hearts and homes. Close your eyes to your neighbour’s house; close your mouth so as not to murmur against anyone; do not judge so as not to be judged; believe in God and peace will come into your home. It’s from the Gospels.
I, my brothers and sisters, as the smallest spirit to have come down to Earth, but a friend to all, in a perfect concentration of the companions who surround me at this moment, ask that they feel the need of each one of you and that, when you leave this temple of charity, you find the paths opened, your sick improved and cured, and health forever in your matter. With a vow of peace, health and happiness, with humility, love and charity, I am and always will be the humble Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas’.
Zélio Fernandino de Moraes dedicated 66 years of his life to Umbanda, having returned to the spiritual plane on 3rd October 1975 with the certainty of a mission accomplished.
His work and the guidelines laid down by the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas continue in action through his daughters Zélia and Zilméa de Moraes, who have in their hearts a great love for Umbanda, a leafy tree that is always bearing fruit for those who know how and deserve to reap it.
HISTORY OF THE ORIGIN AND FOUNDATION OF UMBANDA