Unlike the three great western monotheistic religions (the christianity, Judaism and the Islam), a umbanda it's the candomblé they do not have a written tradition marked by a sacred book, such as the bible, the Torah and the Koran. The religions portrayed in this article have a common origin, in African rites, and a marked tradition essentially through orality and, in the case of Candomblé, through direct religious learning through daily practice of religion in yard (place where the religious rituals of both Umbanda and Candomblé are performed).
THE cruel enslavement of African peoples in Brazilian lands it brought about a mixture of different peoples and cultures. In our country, the culture, blood and customs of native (indigenous), African and European peoples merged. Africans brought with them the practice of religious cults common throughout the African territory, aimed at gratitude and requests to the orixás.
Read too: The origin of Candomblé terreiros
What are orixás?
You orishas at
african mythology they are, in general, deities who ordered the world and were immanently present in the forces of nature. Umbanda, Candomblé (the two main Afro-Brazilian religions) and other denominations such as Quimbanda and Xamba emerged in this movement. As we will show in this text, despite the similarities between the two religions because of the same root, they have great differences.
Candomblé
Candomblé is older and is much closer to African rites, as it is a purer and more direct combination of the various African cults brought by enslaved blacks. It is estimated that it appeared in Bahia and first spread through northeastern lands. You candomblé rituals they are much more like African rituals, with drums, dances and offerings. As it comes from different peoples, this religion is not practiced in a unique way and has at least four different denominations:
Ketu, of Yoruba tradition, of the Nagô peoples;
fast, of Fon tradition, of the Jeje peoples;
Bantu, of Bacongo tradition, of the Angolan peoples;
Caboclo, bringing together African entities and the spirits worshiped by indigenous peoples;
In Candomblé rituals, offerings (usually typical food) to please the orixás, accompanied by drums and dancing. The drums and chants that accompany the music vary according to the origin of the denomination in practice in the terreiro. The Ketu, for example, have chants sung in Yorubá (the language of the peoples of that ethnic group), while the Bantus (Angolans) sing chants in Bantu bacongo.
In Candomblé, the practice of incorporation or from mediumship. The rituals in terreiros are types of parties on offer, with plentiful food, music and dancing, which, in the belief of this religion, attracts ancestral spirits and orixás. The people present in these rituals, when initiated into religion, enter into a kind of trance and they dance according to their head orixás (the orixá that guides each person's life). The priesthood in Candomblé terreiros is exercised by the Babalorixá (if a man) or by the Yalorixá (if a woman). Unlike Umbanda, the cults of this religion do not use drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol.
African mythology points out, in addition to the orixás, the existence of a sovereign god, called Olódùmarè. As for the worshiped orixás, the amount varies according to the type of candomblé. In general, there are around sixteen or twenty orixás, each with its own quality and specificity. You candombléists they believe in the immortality of the soul and reincarnation.
Umbanda
Born in Brazil in 1908 through a young man named Zélio Fernandino de Moraes, a umbanda (word originated from the quimbunda dialect which means healing or healing art) is an Afro-Brazilian religion that syncretizes elements of African cults with elements of indigenous religions, Catholicism and spiritualism Kardecist.
The story goes that Zélio Fernandino began to exhibit strange behavior, in which he seemed to imitate an old man saying unintelligible words. Concerned about the young man, his relatives took him to the doctor, who recommended a visit to a priest. The family, however, took him to a spiritist center, where the incorporation of a spirit that called itself the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas. From there, the spirit began to give instructions on what should be done, starting the practice of Umbanda.
As a syncretic religion, Umbanda believes in the existence of a sovereign god called Olorum (equivalent to Olódùmarè), maintains a relationship of belief in relation to the orixás, but different from the Candomblé belief. He believes in the immortality of the soul, reincarnation and karma, in addition to worshiping entities, which would be more experienced spirits that guide people.
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The figure of orishas appears to Umbandistas as a natural energy that is accessed by spirit guides (entities) and passed through these spirits to people. One of the main Christian landmarks present in Umbanda, inherited from Catholicism and Kardecist spiritism, is the practice of charity. In Umbanda, only those who practice charity unconditionally are able to evolve their spirit.
Umbanda practitioners, in their rituals, play drums and sing sacred songs in Portuguese, in addition to receiving incorporations (through mediums) of entities, which have the power to heal, advise, evaluate and change life of people. As it is a religion of very immanent belief, spirits or entities have a very strong connection with earthly life, so they have connection with elements present in material life such as the consumption of tobacco, food and beverages (some alcoholic) to accomplish what they call it work (the incorporation in the terreiro during the ritual). These representations are linked to a sacred symbology for such religions and must be respected. The priesthood in Umbanda terreiros is exercised by the Holy Father (if a man) or by the saint mother (if it is a woman).
Umbanda is also not made up of a single strand. After its dissemination through the medium Zélio Fernandino, several different strands began to appear. In 1939, the Spiritist Union of Umbanda in Brazil (UEUB), which institutionalized this religion, making it more theologically consolidated than Candomblé. From then on, UEUB started to organize Umbanda congresses in Brazil, which stimulated the study and strengthening of Umbanda doctrine.
In Umbanda, nine orixás are worshiped (Oxalá, Ogum, Oxossi, Shango, Yemanja, Oxum, Iansã, Nana Buruquê and Obaluaê/Omulú. These orixás represent the so-called seven lines of umbanda and, as mentioned, there is no direct work in rituals with the orixás, but with the entities, which are spirits classified according to their characteristics, from the following manner:
Exus and Pombagiras: they are messengers of the orixás (exu is the masculine, and pombagira, the feminine) – there is a misunderstanding in the interpretation of these entities, as some Christian traditions associated them with the devil. Candomblé also treats Eshu in a different way, because, in its belief, Eshu is an orixá, and not an entity;
Caboclos: Indian spirits, both warriors and healers (shamans);
Old black and black old: spirits of Brazilian slaves and slaves, old and wise;
eres (children): spirits of children, pure and joyful, but also endowed with some wisdom;
Bahians, sailors, rogues and cattlemen: are entities of the so-called auxiliary lines, in some ways, or regional lines (umbanda suffers differences according to the location where the yard is located).
Relationship of orixás with Catholic saints
The orixás, worshiped both in Umbanda and Candomblé, were associated by adherents of these two religions to Catholic saints. That's because during the colonial period, when the first Africans were kidnapped and brought to land Brazilians as slaves, the official religion of the colony was Catholicism and any pagan ritual was harsh restrained. In order to worship their orixás, Africans were learning to disguise their rituals, creating a code where each orixá was represented by one or more saints of Catholicism. Thus, Yemanja, for example, was represented by Nossa Senhora da Conceição; Shango, by St. John; Ogun, by São Jorge; hopefully, by Jesus etc.
Conclusions
Umbanda and Candomblé are not purely African religions, but of African origin and founded in Brazil. Despite having a common root, Candomblé is closer to African cults, as it has been more preserved, not mixing so much with other religions.
US candomblé rites, the energies brought by the orixás are celebrated, which provoke a trance effect in the followers of this religion, who dance amidst songs, drums and food offered to the orixás.
already the umbanda mixed, more visibly, Catholicism, spiritism it's the candomblé, founding a doctrine based on the ideals of these three distinct religions. Because it was more widespread, umbanda was better consolidated as a doctrine and religious institution, which strengthened it in Brazil.
by Francisco Porfirio
Graduated in Philosophy
