Introduction
Understanding Candombread
Candomblé is not a single uniform liturgy. Its "nations" preserve and recreate different African languages, rhythms, divinities and genealogies in a Brazilian world marked by the violence of slavery.
Africans and their descendants organized religious communities under the guise of Catholic brotherhoods or in autonomous spaces.
To be retained
Four essential principles
- Candomblé is not a single uniform liturgy.
- Africans and their descendants organized religious communities under the guise of Catholic brotherhoods or in autonomous spaces.
- Each initiate develops a relationship with one or more powers.
- candomblé preserves a living African memory through initiation, community and circulation of the axis.
Small timeline
A tradition shaped by history
Origins and training
Africans and their descendants organized religious communities under the guise of Catholic brotherhoods or in autonomous spaces.
Historical developments
The police and elites had long been the punishment of the terreiros.
Ritual life and teachings
Each initiate develops a relationship with one or more powers.
A living and plural tradition
In the 20th century, artists, intellectuals and activists contributed to its recognition, while communities continued their own transmissions.
History and development
Africans and their descendants organized religious communities under the guise of Catholic brotherhoods or in autonomous spaces. The police and elites for a long time repressed the "terreiros".
In the 20th century, artists, intellectuals and activists contributed to its recognition, while communities continued their own transmissions.
Worldview, beliefs and practices
Each initiate develops a relationship with one or more powers. L的*axé* is the relational energy maintained by gestures, food, leaves, words and sacrifices.
Drums, songs and dances call divinities, which can manifest themselves by possession. Initiation includes progressive knowledge and commitments, many of which are confidential.
Texts, symbols and transmission
Mostly oral tradition, supplemented today by writings. Necklaces, colors, ritual tools, leaves and rhythms are specific to divinities and houses.
Simplistic associations "one color = one orixá" vary according to the lines.
What research can and cannot say
Candomblé is central in the history of black resistance in Brazil. Plant and music studies can shed light on knowledge, but their withdrawal without consent would be a return to exploitation.
References