Candomble: An Overview the History

Candomble: An Overview

The History of Candomble

Candomble is a subset of the religious tradition known as Macumba. Mancumba is the Brazilian equivalent of Santeria. The religion came to Brazil with the introduction of black slaves to the region in the 1550s and brought the worship of African Gods to Brazil ("Candomble," New Religious Movements, 2007). Devotees hail from three areas: the Brazilian coastal regions, the Caribbean islands, and East Africa. It most typically resembles Yoruban religions, and the name derives from the celebration held on coffee plantations by the slaves. However, slave owners prohibited slaves from openly practicing their African form of worship, so Candomble exhibited a strong syncretistic tendency and merged with Catholicism, often using Catholic ideology to mask traditional beliefs and rituals (Stirling, 1997). While the slaves outwardly followed the Catholic faith, they secretly practiced their African religious beliefs until they were freed in 1888. Even today, Candomble is officially condemned by the Church. In Brazil, it was officially banned and persecuted well into the 1950s by the government "with particular violence during the rule of President Getulio Vargas" (Fernandes, 2007).

As official persecution intense, the religion's membership expanded and it acquired respectability even for mainstream members of Brazilian society (Fernandes, 2007). But still, many Brazilians still publicly practice Catholicism, but privately practice Candomble. No contradiction is seen in the eyes of the believers between the two religions. For example, every year, on January 1st, a celebration for the water goddess takes place where celebrants dress in white and wade into the ocean at dusk. Adherents sail small boats filled with religious artifacts, including statues of saints. If the boat sinks, he goddess Orisha Yemanji, associated with the Virgin Mary of the Catholic faith, has heard the prayers of devotee.

Philosophy of Candomble

The rituals, myths and philosophy of Candomble are not concerned with immediate, present-day history (Fernandes, 2007). Most teachings are oral, because of the historical origins of the faith as a transported slave religion, and are passed on from devotee to devotee. The founding ideas are that humans have both a physical and spiritual body, spiritual entities are in constant contact with the mortal world, and that believers can contact the spiritual world through rituals and use the spirits for healing and for help and guidance ("Candomble," New Religious Movements, 2007)

This stress upon ritual means that sacred space is very important to practitioners. The religion "invests relationships with a cosmic dimension, both in mythical times and in life as we know it" (Fernandes, 2007). One interesting aspect of the religion is its color symbolism, which reflects its African roots. Black has a strong positive significance. Other colors of importance are Oxum or gold, Oxossi or forest green, Yemanja or sea blue, Xango or red and white (Fernandes, 2007).