O Syncretism it is characterized by the union of several religions and ideologies that form another.
Currently, the most visible syncretism is the religious one, but the ideological one is also present in several areas of the social and human sciences.
religious syncretism
Syncretism is present in religion where it is possible to visualize elements of various religions that influenced a certain belief.
Catholicism, for example, was born out of Judaism and adopted various Jewish festivals such as Passover, which took on another meaning with Christians.
Likewise, the Catholic Church absorbed practices from the pagan religions of the Roman Empire such as the use of images, vestments of priests and pagan festivals such as the Midsummer, transformed into the celebration of St. John Baptist.
This can be seen in all religions, as there is no pure religion.
Religious syncretism in Brazil
In Brazil, syncretism is evident among African-based religions that have incorporated elements of the Catholicism. It is important to emphasize that this mixture was processed differently in different parts of the country.
The main reason for this phenomenon is the form of power exercised by Portugal at the time of colonization.
As the crown and the Church were united in the colonization project, conversion to Catholicism was imposed on the conquered peoples. Like the Indians, enslaved blacks were forced to adopt the Catholic religion.
Faced with the conquest of territory such as Angola, the colony began to exploit the slavery of black Africans, as this resulted in a profitable trade. Thus, slavery between indigenous and black people began to coexist, although the Church condemned the use of unpaid indigenous labor.
Due to the determination of conversion, the captured slaves came to have contact with the Catholic religion even on the ships that transported them to Brazil.
Read more: Quilombos and Recôncavo Baiano
African Orishas
Intimidated by the punishments that would be imposed if they did not accept the conversion, many slaves apparently embraced the Catholic religion, but kept the cult of their orixás of origin.
The white lords, on the other hand, allowed singing and dancing on Sundays, as well as prayers and drumming inside the slave quarters.
Some historians maintain that masters believed that in this way, slaves would keep Africa in memory. In this way, they would not forget the rivalry between the different groups, avoiding a revolt against the state of slavery.
Among the figures of the Catholic Church worshiped by the Portuguese is Santa Barbara, to whom slaves they pretended to sing, but in fact, the cult was intended for Yansan, orisha of sexuality, goddess of the winds and rays.
Saint Lázaro, with its wounds and wounds, is also syncretized with Omolú, the orixá of skin diseases.
Yemanjá, the goddess who lets her own life leave her womb, is syncretized with certain denominations of the Virgin Mary, such as Nossa Senhora da Conceição. Because it occurs differently in different parts of the country, the syncretism of the same saint or orixá is not identical.
In Rio de Janeiro, for example, the war orixá Ogun is syncretized with São Jorge and in the State of Bahia with St. Anthony.
The image of Saint George in armor and helmet, fighting bravely with a dragon, contrasts with Saint Anthony holding a baby in his arms. According to the Church, however, Santo Antônio would also have been a soldier and, for this reason, he fought, which explains the syncretism with Ogun.
Afro-Brazilian religions
During the period of exploitation of slave labor, Brazil received people from different regions of Africa. As they were from different places, they did not speak the same language and also worshiped different orixás and had different traditions.
Some warred among themselves and, in common, shared only the fact of being enslaved in the colony. Brazil received Sudanese, Guinean and Bantu blacks. The diversity is such that Guineans are made up of Muslims.
Candomblé
the name of Candomblé to religiosity and to the set of many religious manifestations of enslaved blacks.
The word Candomblé is an onomatopoeia indicative of African dance. That is why historians classify African religions as various candomblés, after all, candomblé is divided into nations such as nagô, keto and ijêxa.
Practitioners of this religion had to adapt to the circumstances they found in each mill and region of Brazil in order to continue with their practices. Thus, they adopted the festivals of saints and their images in this adaptation process with the aim of keeping their cults alive.
Umbanda
In Rio de Janeiro, at the beginning of the 20th century, another phenomenon of syncretism occurred with the birth of Umbanda.
This is a mixture of Afro-Brazilian religions, Catholicism, indigenous legends and Alan Kardec's spiritualism. That's why it's a belief that was born syncretized.
Its conceptual principles, "Light, Charity and Love", come from Spiritism and the way of worshiping the orixás has its origins, basically, in Candomblé. However, unlike this one, indigenous entities are also worshipped.
Read too:
- Syncretism
- Religion
- Religious intolerance
- Orixás do Brasil
- congada
