Umbanda is a syncretic Brazilian religion that blends African traditions with Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and Indigenous American beliefs. Although some of its beliefs and most of its practices existed in the late 19th century in almost all Brazil, it is assumed that Umbanda originated in Niterói and surrounding areas in the early 20th century, mainly due to the work of a psychic (medium), Zélio Fernandino de Moraes, who practiced Umbanda among the poor Brazilian of African descent. Since then, Umbanda has spread across mainly southern Brazil and neighboring countries like Argentina and Uruguay.
Candomblé is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of Candomblé, which is organised through autonomous groups.
Christianity is the largest religion in Brazil, with Catholics having the most adherents. Brazil possesses a richly spiritual society formed from the meeting of the Catholic Church with the religious traditions of enslaved Africans and indigenous people. This confluence of faiths during the Portuguese colonization of Brazil led to the development of a diverse array of syncretistic practices within the overarching umbrella of Brazilian Catholicism, characterized by traditional Portuguese festivities. Until recently Catholicism was overwhelmingly dominant. Changes in the 21st century have led to a growth in secularism, and to Evangelical Protestantism, at 31% of the population. A 2020 poll indicates that around 50% of Brazilians consider themselves Catholic, down from 90% in 1970. Despite falling in most of the country, Catholicism remains strong in most of the Northeast. Some analysts have projected Protestants to possibly outnumber Catholics around 2030.
African diaspora religions are a number of related religions that developed in the Americas in various nations of the Caribbean, Latin America and the Southern United States. They derive from traditional African religions with some influence from other religious traditions, notably Christianity and Islam.
Makumba is a term that has been used to describe various religions of the African diaspora found in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. It is sometimes considered by non-practitioners to be a form of witchcraft or black magic.
Afro-Brazilians are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry. Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or pardos, may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Depending on the circumstances, the ones whose African features are more evident are always or frequently seen by others as "africans" - consequently identifying themselves as such, while the ones for whom this evidence is lesser may not be seen as such as regularly. It is important to note that the term pardo, such as preto, is rarely used outside the census spectrum. Brazilian society has a range of words, including negro itself, to describe multiracial people.
Quimbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced primarily in the urban city centers of Brazil. Quimbanda practices are typically associated with magic, rituals with Exus, and Pombagiras spirits. Quimbanda was originally contained under the religious tradition of Macumba. In the early years of the 21st century some began to assert that Quimbanda was totally separate from Umbanda. Umbanda represented the more Europeanized traits of the religion. Quimbanda has continued to insist that it is a distinct religion, while rejecting Catholic and Kardecist Spiritist influences that have penetrated Umbanda and other Afro-Brazilian religions.
Sacred music and dance are fundamental to the Santo Daime religion. The earliest hymns are those of the founder, Raimundo Irineu Serra - 'Mestre Irineu'. While the rituals and music originated with a very few hymns, sung by a small group in the Brazilian Amazon, the practice of these spiritual works in diverse parts of the world since it began expansion around the beginning of the 1990s has given rise to a significant body of music, in many languages. Daimistas from Brazil and other countries have contributed to this growing genre, while continuing to sing the principle hinarios in Portuguese.
Santo Daime is a syncretic religion founded in the 1930s in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Acre by Raimundo Irineu Serra, known as Mestre Irineu. Santo Daime incorporates elements of several religious or spiritual traditions including Folk Catholicism, Kardecist Spiritism, African animism and indigenous South American shamanism, including vegetalismo.
Sérgio Buarque de Holanda was a Brazilian historian, writer, journalist and sociologist. His greatest achievement was Raízes do Brasil, a landmark of Brazilian sociology, in which he developed the groundbreaking concept of the "cordial man" as the fundamental Brazilian identity. His son, Chico Buarque de Holanda is an accomplished singer-songwriter and novelist and his daughter Miúcha was also a famous singer. Buarque de Holanda was also a member of the Academia Paulista de Letras.
The Brazilian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Brazil, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome, and the influential National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, composed of over 400 primary and auxiliary bishops and archbishops. There are over 250 dioceses and other territorial jurisdictions in Brazil. The primate of Brazil is Dom Sérgio da Rocha.
A Mãe-de-santo ([ˈmɐ̃ȷ̃ dʒi ˈsɐ̃tu], or ialorixá, is a priestess of Umbanda, Candomblé and Quimbanda, the Afro-Brazilian religions. In Portuguese those words translate as "mother of [the] saint[s]", which is an adaption of the Yoruba language word iyalorishá, a title given to priest women in African religions. Iyá means mother, and the contraction l'Orishá means "of Orishá". As a product of the syncretism, the word Orishá was adapted into Portuguese as saint.
A pai-de-santo is a male priest of Umbanda, Candomblé and Quimbanda, the Afro-Brazilian religions. In Portuguese those words translate as "father of [the] saint[s]", which is an adaption from the Yoruba language word babalorishá, a title given to the African religion's priests. Babá means father, and the contraction l'Orishá means "of Orishá". As a product of the syncretism, the word Orishá was adapted into Portuguese as saint.
Ruth Vilaça Correia Leite Cardoso was a Brazilian anthropologist and a former member of the Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences at the University of São Paulo (FFLCH-USP). She was the wife of 34th President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, and First Lady of her country between January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. She too was a Ph.D in anthropology from the University of São Paulo.
Roger Bastide was a French sociologist and anthropologist, specialist in sociology and Brazilian literature.
Zélio Fernandino de Moraes was a Brazilian medium who is considered the founder of the Umbanda religion.
Events in the year 1891 in Brazil.
Cafundó is 2005 Brazilian historical drama film written and directed by Paulo Betti and Clóvis Bueno and starring Lázaro Ramos. The film is a biopic based on miracle worker preto velho João de Camargo of Sorocaba and is based on the book João de Camargo de Sorocaba: O Nascimento de uma Religião by Carlos de Campos and Adolfo Frioli. The title comes from a former quilombo, the source of João de Camargo's original spiritual inspiration, located in today's Salto de Pirapora.
Eugênia Anna Santos was a Brazilian Iyalorixá. She founded the candomblé Ilê Axé Opó Afonjá in Salvador, now considered a National Historic Landmark, and in Rio de Janeiro.
Pajubá is a Brazilian cryptolect which inserts numerous words and expressions from West African languages into the Portuguese language. It is spoken by practitioners of Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Candomblé and Umbanda, and by the Brazilian LGBT community. Its source languages include Umbundu, Kimbundo, Kikongo, Egbá, Ewe, Fon and Yoruba. It also includes words borrowed from Spanish, French, and English, as well as words of Portuguese origin with altered meanings.
