Candomblé is one of the Afro-Brazilian religions practiced in South America, especially Brazil, that mixes traditional religions of West Africa from the Yoruba, Bantu, and Fon people brought to South America with Roman Catholic influences, especially the Catholic saints, creating a new syncretic religion. The African diasporic religion developed in the unique cultural melting pot that was colonial Brazil.
One of the central religious traditions of Candomblé is veneration of the Orixas, divine energies associated with different elements of nature. Individuals are believed to identify with one of the Orixas as their tutelary spirit.
Candomblé Religious Traditions
Candomblé is a uniquely Afro-Brazilian religion, made possible by mixing African, European, and native Indian traditions in the New World as a result of the Atlantic slave trade. Candomble is strongest in Bahia, Brazil, a major port for arriving Africans. Its principal city, Salvador, was the first capital city of Brazil. The first Candomblé temple, Ilê Axé Iyá Nassô Oká, was built in Salvador in 1830, after the abolition of slavery. Candomblé started to spread to other areas of the country, such as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, due to the growing emigration of former African slaves, now free to travel, who established new communities based on Afro-Brazilian culture.
Candomblé is an initiatory religion, with knowledge passed from elders to new members without the use of an established sacred text. Therefore, not all of its secrets can be known to outsiders, and there can be significant regional variations. There is no central authority in Candomblé, and practitioners gather in individual sacred spaces, called terreiros, which are dedicated Candomblé houses. They are run by a Mae or Pai de Santo, so a sacred mother or father, or a Candomblé priest. Practitioners are often called “povo de santo,” or “people of the saint.”
The purpose of gathering in the terreiro is to communicate with the Orixas, divine spirits. Candomblé houses contain shrines for the various Orixás, created by gathering objects considered sacred to the specific Orixá. Individual adherents may also have altars in their homes. Food, drink, money, and even live animals are sometimes sacrificed at these altars to call on the favor of the Orixa. Members will also gather on festival days of the individual Orixas for special celebrations and to perform ceremonies.
While members do not practice magic, common activities do include healing rituals, amulet preparations, and herbal remedies.
The Orixas
One element of Candomblé that is popular in Brazilian culture, among practitioners and non-believers alike, is veneration of the Orixás.
Candomblé means “dance of the gods” and includes a belief in one all-powerful being, called Olorun or Olodumare. Olorun already existed in traditional African religions, and allowed for a connection between African and European traditions, with Olorun interpreted as God. This is also something that Candomblé has in common with Voodoo, in which Bondye is worshipped as the great god.
Olorun created many lesser deities, called Orixás. While Olorun is aloof and difficult to understand, the Orixas act as intermediaries between the human and the divine. Following his bidding, these Orixás created the world and mankind, and they embody the various natural elements.
The Orixás are invoked by practitioners in Candomblé rituals using dances that embody the characteristics of the specific Orixá, resulting in an ecstatic connection. Rituals usually involve the group drumming and singing, while selected practitioners perform the dance of the Orixa.
While the Orixás are celebrated in the terrerios, they are also often celebrated in public festivals attended by both practitioners and the broader community. For example, in Bahia, Iemanja, the Orixá of the sea, is celebrated with street festivals on the 2nd of February to thank her for the bounty of fish that she provided for the hungry new arrivals when they landed in Brazil. Today, people row out into the ocean and make offerings of flowers to the Orixa.
Many of the Orixas are syncretized with Catholic saints with whom they share commonalities. This was probably originally done to disguise Candomblé rituals as Catholic festivals to avoid persecution by the Roman Catholic establishment. Now it allows the mostly Christian Brazilian population to incorporate the Orixas into their activities. However, prejudice against Candomblé and the Orixas does exist among some Brazilian Christian groups. However, elements of Candomblé are also often embraced alongside Roman Catholicism in Brazil.
Candomblé remained marginalized until the 20th century, with popularity increasing between the 1930s and the 1970s. Then changes inlaws around public gatherings allowed African beliefs and practices to flourish. This opening of Candomblé was also a catalyst to remove Roman catholic influences and return to a more Afro-centric approach.
Lesser Spirits
Beneath the Orixas in the Candomblé hierarchy are lesser spirits. First, there are the Egun, who are ancestral spirits. They enter the realm of the Orixas after death. Lesser spirits can be either benevolent or mischievous forces, depending on their level of spiritual growth. They need to be taught to be invoked through offerings, and once they have learned, they become known as Baba.
Exus are considered lesser spirits who act almost as servants of the Orixas. They can be active in the world and can be more interested in the individual people close to them than the Orixas. Exus are often considered responsible for opening and closing doors of opportunity in a person’s life. They are also easier to deal with than the Orixas.
Coboclos are spirits believed to have come from somewhere else, such as other cultures, but are having an impact on the Candomble community. They are often depicted as white cowboys or indigenous people.
Candomble and Fate
It is also believed that every individual has their own Orixá as a kind of tutelary deity that helps them fulfill their destiny.
In the Afro-Brazilian religion, Iwa is the essence of what it is to be human, and it is what separates humans from animals. Before the birth of an Iwa, the soul chooses an Odu, which is a personal fate. When the person is born, they then have an Ori, which is considered a personal Orixá that is unique to that individual. This Ori must then cooperate with the tutelary Orixá of the individual to help them fully realize their destiny, called Odi. A soul is only healthy when their Ori is in harmony with their Orixá.
Candomblé initiates work with a religious leader to identify their tutelary deity by connecting with their ancestor spirits, called Egum. But others will choose based on the day of the week they were born, their appearance, or their character, each of which can be linked to a specific Orixa.
Candomblé practitioners then honor their Orixá by doing things such as wearing their colors, particularly on their day of the week, greeting them with a special word, and learning their unique dance. Men will almost always have a male Orixa and women a female Orixa, and they are called sons and daughters.
Domains of the Orixas
Oxalá
Oxalá was created by Olorun to create the world and mankind, making him the most important of the Orixás. He is depicted as a frail old man with an elaborate scepter that he uses as a walking stick.
Oxalá is associated with pure, clean, fresh water and is also linked through marriage with both Nana and Iemanja, also Orixás linked with water. He is the Orixá of creation, procreation, purification, and peace.
Oxalá always wears white clothing, and his day of the week is Friday. Learn more about Oxala.
Xangô
Xangô is considered the patron Orixá of Brazil, and he is linked with justice and conquest. He is also the Orixá of the natural elements of lightning and thunder. He is symbolized by the axe.
Xangô is a conquering warrior who never accepts defeat and is also a vengeful god who represents furious divine justice.
Xangô’s day of the week is Thursday, and he wears red and white. Learn more about Xango.
Iemanjá
Iemanjá is the female Orixá of the ocean and the most adored Orixá in Brazil. She represents the violence and unpredictability of the ocean, but also its giving and cleansing nature. She is worshipped wherever salt water is.
Iemanjá is the mother to all and is especially kind to those in need. She is the protector of sailors, slaves, and the hungry. Desperate men often turn to her for guidance because she keeps all secrets. She is the overall embodiment of feminine power.
Iemanjá’s day of the week is Saturday, and her colors are translucent white and blue. Learn more about Iemanja.
Ogum
Ogum is a male Orixá linked with battle and iron, and he is often depicted with a machete and a round shield. He represents the vital energy that is needed to constantly transform to meet new challenges and win battles.
Ogum is associated with ideas of evolution, whether that be human evolution, personal transformation, or technological development. When something is transforming, it is in a state of Ogum.
Ogum’s day of the week is Tuesday, and he wears blue and green. Learn more about Ogum.
Oxóssi
Oxóssi is a male Orixá and is linked with hunting and the forest. As an extension of this, he is also associated with good nutrition and fulfilling your essential needs to live a good life.
Oxóssi is known for his strategic planning and thinking and is often called upon when it is time to step back and evaluate a course of action.
Oxóssi’s colors are light blue and green, and his day of the week is Thursday. Learn more about Oxossi.
Oxum
Oxum is the female Orixá of love and beauty and is the only female Orixá believed to have participated in the creation of the world. She overlaps with many of the other Orixás, with dominion over fresh water, fish, mermaids, and butterflies.
She embodies the natural energy of fresh water and is usually invoked close to water sources. But she is also linked with the liquid blood that flows in the veins of all life. She is linked with the art of divination and ideas of good luck and abundance.
Oxum’s color is yellow-gold. Learn more about Oxum.
Iansã
Iansã is a female Orixá associated with wind and fire. She is a relentless force that can overcome any barrier or obstacle. There is no place that she cannot enter, including the realm of the dead. She has an intense sexual energy and is considered the owner of herself. She is subordinate to no man.
Iansã’s day is Wednesday, and she wears red, from bright to earth tones. Learn more about Iansa.
Oxumarê
Oxumarê is unique in that he is both male and female. As an extension of that, he represents opposites, between the genders, between stability and transition, and between beginnings and endings.
According to legend, he had an affair with Oxum, but she was with Xangô, and he almost killed Oxumarê in vengeance. Rather than killing him, Xangô drove him away from the earth and back into the sky. He secretly returns to earth via a rainbow, and his symbols are the serpent and the rainbow.
Oxumarê’s colors are yellow or green and black. Learn more about Oxumare.
Nanã
Nanã is the female Orixá of rain. She is also considered the oldest of the Orixás and is often called the oldest of the elderly.
Nana dwells in swamps and muddy areas. She may have made the bodies of men from clay, ready for life to be breathed into them. She is considered responsible for linking the spiritual and material elements of a person when they are born and separating them again when they die.
Nanã’s day of the week is Monday, and she wears dark blue, lilac, and white. Learn more about Nana.
Exu
Exu was synchronized with the Devil in Christianity, making him one of the more complex Orixas. He was the messenger of the gods and the guardian of the crossroads, which meant that he also guided the dead. He has the ability to bring fortune, good or bad.
His colors are red and black, and his day of the week is Monday. Learn more about Exu.
Axé
Star Wars fans will be pleased to know that Candomble basically has an idea of the force. Axé is life energy. You have it in you, and it is also all around you and is affected by all your actions and everything that you interact with.
Charismatic and lucky people are believed to have lots of Axé, which they can share with others, which in turn increases their Axé. It also exists in natural forces, and bathing in the ocean and eating certain foods, such as palm oil (dende), can help maintain your Axé.
FAQs
What is the difference between Macumba and Candomblé?
Macumba is mostly a name used for the version of Candomblé that developed in Rio de Janeiro, but it can also be used as a generic term for all African religions. In practice, it is often used to refer to the “dark” side of Candomblé, such as “black magic’ practices, which are not universal in Candomblé. It is also commonly used as an adjective for candomblé practitioners (macumbeiros) and ritual objects used in Candomblé.
Does Candomble sacrifice animals?
Candomblé is a sacrificial religion in that offerings are made to the Orixas. Different types of offerings are appropriate for different Orixas based on their characteristic. While animal sacrifice can be an appropriate offering, it is relatively uncommon in modern Candomblé, in which flowers, incense, and liquor are preferred.
Is Candomble Matrirchal?
As with many African religions, Candomblé is traditionally matriarchal, and terreiros are led by “maes” or priestesses. This reflects family structures in Bahia in general, in which the mother tends to be the stable head who holds a family together. However, there are also “paes” (fathers) of the terreiros.
What is the difference between Candomblé and Umbanda?
While Candomblé and Umbanda share the same basis, Umbanda is more focused on spiritualism and making contact with the Orixas and other spirits. Also, while Camdomble is mostly focused on the present life, Umbada centralizes ideas of karma and reincarnation, preaching the idea of spiritual growth through each lifetime.
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