Despite secular trends in some countries, prestige-based authority in the form of religious leadership remains hugely influential in the everyday lives of millions of people around the world. Here, the costs and benefits of religious leadership are explored in an urban setting in northeastern Brazil. An economic game, within-group cooperation questionnaires, and social network analyses were carried out among adherents of an Afro-Brazilian religion. Results reveal that leaders display high levels of religious commitment and disproportionally provide cooperative services (...) to group members. On the other hand, initiates cooperate less than leaders but do not differ in levels of received cooperation or social cohesion measures. This may indicate some level of exploitation or free-riding. Demographic and group variables also appear to play an important role in the degree of social cohesion a group achieves. These findings are discussed in the context of non-Western urban settings where religious leadership may represent both an alternative to social advancement and a crucial source of material aid, social support, and a strong sense of community. (shrink)

Normal 0 21 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Resumo O Reinado de Nossa Senhora do Rosário (também conhecido como Congado), manifestação católica, típica dos negros, festa popular e importante no Estado de Minas Gerais funda-se em uma narrativa mítica em torno da Santa de mesmo nome e constitui o imaginário de seus devotos. Compreender como esta religiosidade mítica foi constituída no Brasil é o objetivo desse artigo. Os dados são partes integrantes de tese de doutoramento que adotou a teoria da complexidade (...) (Morin), a psicologia profunda (Jung, Campbell, Bachelard), a antropologia do imaginário (Durand) e a antropologia da festa (Duvignaud) com seus principais expoentes em diálogo com outros autores, como referenciais teóricos. A mithopoiésis (Ferreira Santos) aqui entendida como a elaboração de sentidos dada pelos congadeiros à sua própria vida orientada pelo fundo mítico de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, se tornou a metodologia mais adequada para o estudo. Os resultados encontrados possibilitaram a construção de novos conhecimentos sobre as comunidades afrodescendentes, ampliando a nossa compreensão sobre a sociedade brasileira, e sobre nós mesmos. Palavras-chave: congado; mito; imaginário; festa.Nossa Senhora do Rosário's Reign (also known as Congado), Catholic manifestation, typicaly of black people, popular and important party in the State of Minas Gerais is founded on a mythical narrative about the Saint of the same name and establishes the imagination of its devotees . Understanding how this mythical religion was established in Brazil is the purpose of this article. The data is part of the doctoral thesis which adopted the theory of complexity (Morin), depth psychology (Jung, Campbell, Bachelard), anthropology of the imaginary (Durand) and anthropology of the party (Duvignaud) with their main representatives in dialogue with other authors, as theoretical reference. The mithopoiésis (Ferreira Santos) here is understood as the elaboration of senses given by the Congadeiros to their own lives, guided by the mythical background of Nossa Senhora do Rosário has become the most appropriate methodology for the study. The results allowed the construction of new knowledge about the afro-descendent communities, enlarging our understanding of the Brazilian society, and ourselves. Key words: congado ; myth; imaginary; party. (shrink)

This thesis is a narrative on how different groups struggle for the understanding provided to the Afro-Brazilian religions of the process promoted by the Brazilian State with the objective of a nationality configuration. An ongoing process which has no precise date for its beginning. The end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, when the debate on the construction of a nation ideal, the Brazilian nation, starts to emerge, mark the start of (...) the reflection presented in this thesis, which spans the 20th century, anchoring in the present times. It is therefore a reflection about a historic process according to the social sciences, especially anthropology. An issue spans the entire narrative: under which definition of religion was it possible to embrace such a religious segment in the public space? Instead of “definition”, in the singular form, it would be better to use "definitions", which varies throughout the process insofar as the Afro-Brazilian religions trace their passage from religion to culture, from culture to religion. The passage is a privileged moment of observation in which arguments that legitimize the presence of the Afro-Brazilian religious in the public space, are formulated. Arguments which contradicts, congregates, juxtapose themselves and are expressed in the debate about the Brazilian cultural heritage constitution. Thus, the formulation and execution of the public heritage policy, regarding the Afro-Brazilian religions is emphasized in the narrative, which also focus on the public racial policy, trying to present the articulations of the black movement and Afro-religious movement in the construction of these arguments. Considering the articulations not only in a national ground as well as in a local ground, in this case, the city of Belo Horizonte. (shrink)

Participants in Northern Brazilian Tambor de Mina dance and spirit possession rituals demonstrate three principal discourses concerning memory and states of consciousness during possession. Most dancers claim, as "unconscious" mediums, to remember essentially nothing of their trance experiences. Many, however, speak of "faked" or incomplete forms of possession. In fact, my research eventually revealed that some experienced mediums and religious leaders regard, if secretly, "conscious" possession to be a more—not less—advanced form of mediumship. I consider some potential implications of (...) the apparent growth, particularly due to the influence of European origin Kardecist and other spiritist movements, of conscious mediumship in this Afro-Brazilian tradition. (shrink)

O texto tem como proposta investigar o posicionamento de alguns intelectuais da umbanda na primeira metade do século XX, evidenciando suas tentativas de conciliação entre religião e magia. Partindo do reconhecimento da oposição estatal entre religião e magia, o texto evidencia as operações conciliatórias dos intelectuais da umbanda, no sentido de, ao mesmo tempo trazer a magia para o âmbito da nova religião, dotá-la de uma base ética e separá-la de manifestações rituais não toleradas pelo estado e por ele criminalizadas. (...) Neste sentido, os intelectuais da umbanda desenvolveram um difícil trabalho, tentando, ao mesmo tempo, reconhecer o papel da magia na religião e superar os interditos que opunham as mesmas no senso comum e na legislação. As fontes trabalhadas dizem respeito, sobretudo, às publicações doutrinárias surgidas na primeira metade do século XX e que se propunham a normatizar e codificar a umbanda. O texto também discute o papel e a importância da palavra escrita na umbanda, relativizando o seu papel como constituinte da religião. Palavras-chave : Umbanda. Magia. Palavra Escrita. Religiões Afro-Brasileiras.This article aims to investigate the positioning of Umbanda intellectuals in the first half of the twentieth century, showing their attempts to reconcile magic and religion. Taking into account opposition of the state between religion and magic this text highlights the operations of Umbanda intellectuals to approximate magic from the new religion, and give to magic an ethical basis that helped to separate magic from those rituals not tolerated by the state. The text emphasizes that Umbanda Intellectuals did a good job when tried to recognize the role of magic within religion and to overcome the injunctions that led the common sense to reinforce such opposition. Bibliographic sources relate, especially, to doctrinal publications from the first half of twentieth century that intended, overall, to normalize and code Umbanda. The article finally discusses the relevance of the written texts in Umbanda showing their role for such religion. Keywords : Umbanda. Magic. Written Word. Afro-Brazilian religions. (shrink)

A diversidade dos cultos e práticas religiosas afro-brasileiras e a consequente multiplicidade das suas experiências já foram ressaltadas pelos estudiosos do fenômeno principalmente na virada do milênio. Propomos-nos nesse texto a discutir de que forma essas religiões conseguiram preservar traços marcantes das culturas e crenças passadas de geração em geração e ao mesmo tempo, modernizar suas práticas e modos de vivenciar a experiência religiosa uma vez que precisam adaptar-se aos novos tempos e, portanto, a novas expectativas e anseios dos (...) praticantes. O cenário em que estabelecemos este debate é o estado de Pernambuco, mais particularmente as religiões afro-brasileiras nesse estado. O exercício metodológico aqui realizado parte das nossas experiências de campo, juntamente com entrevistas realizadas, somadas as reflexões teóricas a partir das quais chegamos a compreensão que o “Candomblé” em Pernambuco se moderniza tentado conservar as suas tradições. As práticas religiosas estão mais abertas, mais espetacularizadas, agora também fazem parte do patrimônio histórico da sociedade. Palavras-chave: Modernização. Fenômeno religioso. Espetacularização. Cultura. Candomblé.The diversity of Afro-Brazilian cults and religious practices as well as the resulting multiplicity of its experiences has already been highlighted by researchers of the religious phenomenon, mainly in the turning of the millennium. In this text we propose to discuss in which way those religions were able to preserve hallmarks of the cultures and beliefs passed on through generations and at the same time modernize its practices and ways of living the religious experience once they need to adapt to the new times and, therefore, to new expectations and wishes of the believers. The scenario in which we establish this debate is the state of Pernambuco, particularly the Afro-Brazilian religions in this state. The methodological exercise herein fulfilled comes from our field experiences, alongside with interviews made, and added to the theoretical reflections from which we arrive to the comprehension that the “Candomblé” in Pernambuco modernizes itself by trying to preserve its traditions. The religious practices are more open, more spetacularized, and now it is also a part of society’s historical heritage. Keywords: Modernization. Religious Phenomenon. Spetacularization. Culture. Candomblé. (shrink)

Resumo Tambor de Mina é o nome da religião afro-brasileira no Maranhão e na Amazônia estabelecida a partir de São Luís desde meados do século XIX. Existem duas casas fundadas por africanos que se continuam: a Casa das Minas Jeje, de origem daomeana e a Casa de Nagô, iorubana de onde derivam a maioria dos terreiros de Mina recentes e atuantes. Trata-se de religião muito ritualizada e discreta, envolvida em segredos e mistérios cuja mitologia é pouco comentada e os (...) rituais muito desenvolvidos. As religiões afro-brasileiras se caracterizam pela realização de festas com transe, danças e comidas que atraem muitos participantes. A comida é bastante para oferecer a todos e distribuir as sobras. A fartura nas festas maiores constitui um dos elementos de prestígio das casas. O texto baseia-se em entrevistas com líderes de um terreiro antigo e de duas casas recentes, sobre comida de santo nas festas. Na linguagem de Mauss o sacrifício constitui obrigação que estabelece uma comunicação entre o mundo sagrado e o profano. O preparo e o consumo da comida de santo permitem conhecer aspectos do sincretismo e dos simbolismos nos rituais. Palavras-chave : Religiões afro-brasileiras; comida de santo; sincretismo; festas; ritual.Tambor de Mina is the name of the Afro-Brazilian religion in Maranhão and Amazon established in São Luís (capital of Maranhão state) since the mid-nineteenth century. There are two matrix-houses founded by Africans: Casa das Minas Jeje , a Dahomean origin house and Casa de Nagô , originally Yoruba and from which most of the Tambor de Mina 's houses come from. It is a very ritualized and discrete religion, involved in secrets and mysteries whose mythology is not frequently commented upon and its rituals are highly developed. Afro-Brazilian religions are characterized by the performance of parties with trance, dance and food which attract many participants. Food is enough to be offered to everyone and have the remains distributed. The abundance of food during the bigger festivities constitutes a prestige element to the houses. According to Mauss, sacrifice is an obligation that establishes communication between sacred and profane. The preparation and consumption of holy feast food allow us to know aspects of syncretism and symbolisms in rituals Keywords : Afro Brazilian religions; holy feast food; syncretism; festivals; ritual. (shrink)

Paul C. Johnson begins his new work, Automatic Religion, with the observation that two of the capacities commonly taken to distinguish humans from nonhumans-free will and religion-are fundamentally opposed. Free will enjoys a central place in our ideas of spontaneity, authorship, and the conscious weighing of alternatives. Meanwhile, religion is less a quest for agency than a series of practices--possession rituals being the most spectacular though by no means the only examples--that temporarily relieve individuals of their will. What, then, is (...) agency and why has it occupied such a central place in theories of the human? Based on a dozen years of archival and ethnographic research in Brazil and France, this book tests the boundaries between humans and non-humans in an unlikely series of episodes from the closing decades of the nineteenth century, when ideas related to automatism lurched into motion on multiple tracks and, not incidentally, "religion" as a topic of study was being born. Brazil provided a particularly fertile place for reflection as the nearest site of what Europeans and Euro-Americans too often, too naïvely, and too imperially saw as raw nature, and thus also a laboratory of the human. In this context, the French would call Brazil's people monkeys; its slaves were called automatons; and Afro-Brazilian spirit possession priests were classed in the terms of French psychiatry's newly minted terms, dissociation and hysteria. Johnson shows not just how automatons can take on unexpectedly human-like lives when animated but also traces how certain groups have been excluded as less-than-human. In so doing, Johnson reanimates one of the most mysterious and yet foundational questions of trans-Atlantic thought-what is agency? (shrink)

The problem of the construction of memory that faces the Afro-Brazilian population presents itself as more than a simple need for an identity connected to an original past, but in addition as essential, because for historical reasons their social reality has not yet reached the end of its struggle. The African composition of Brazilian culture is based on several sources of many origins peculiar to different African peoples. The memory people have of Africa is vague, generic, indefinite. (...) Though the lost ancestral past is multi-ethnic, multicultural Africa, the retrievable past is the one Brazil has succeeded in integrating into the construction of a new civilization: a past that can only be re-invented, a re-created memory. (shrink)

Carolina Maria de Jesus, Abdias Nascimento, and Lélia Gonzalez are presented in this essay as Afro-Brazilian existentialist thinkers, whose global significance lies in their outlining philosophical interpretations of Brazil that center racial relations in the formation of the nation. By combining accounts of the lives and intellectual contributions of these thinkers, one can understand the core of each of their projects, whether in philosophical literature, sociological study of ethnic-racial relations, or philosophical anthropology. Part of a line of thought (...) in which the terms “black” and “existence” are put together, Jesus, Nascimento, and Gonzalez exemplarily proposed practices of decolonial knowledge production based on the notion that it is possible with the struggle for freedom and justice to reverse power structures that hierarchize human beings. (shrink)

Theology as a science reflects the phenomena that in some way constitute the experience of faith in society, that is, looking at the world and the various periods of history with the help of the various sciences: anthropology, the sciences of religion and sociology. With the black traffic of the African continent, came the various customs lived in Africa: culture, religiosity, African myths, beliefs in the Orixás, all these elements constituted the Brazilian cultural imaginary. Thus syncretism arises as a (...) form of resistance and survival of faith. The Church with the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar declarations opens a new way of being in the world, valuing dialogue with other religions and cultures. (shrink)

The architecture of mosques in West Africa, specifically southwestern Nigeria, evidences the input of Africans who were involved with the design of the Baroque churches of Bahia, Brazil.

A Amazônia constituiu-se, ao longo de sua formação histórica e sociocultural, em importante território de crenças em saberes de cura que expressam interculturalidades entre humanos e sobrenaturais. Nas fronteiras que separam e interligam o período colonial e os tempos contemporâneos, fios de memórias escritas e orais trazem à tona experiências em que religiosidades nativas, coloniais e diaspóricas se conformam em profunda bricolagem com a natureza, erigindo um panteão de divindades afroindígenas na região. Neste artigo, sob a orientação teórica dos Estudos (...) Culturais, do Pensamento Pós-Colonial e da Antropologia das Religiões, exploramos diálogos realizados com memórias de um pai de santo, um curandeiro, uma irmã consagrada e uma “pajé”, além de percepções de um sacerdote católico e escritos de uma outra pajé. A análise dessas fontes evidencia que crenças em saberes de cura, aspectos constituintes das cosmologias afroindígenas, traduzem modos específicos com os quais populações amazônicas, com destaque para a Amazônia Marajoara, lidam com encantados, espíritos, santos, orixás em seu fazer religioso. Por esse ângulo, a cultura é apreendida como território de experiências intersticiais e a natureza se refaz como paisagem cultural, pois sofre intervenções e interfere na configuração do sistema religioso local. Palavras-chave : Saberes de Cura. Natureza. Afroindígena. Interculturalidade. Amazônia Marajoara.The Amazon has been constituted, throughout its historical and socio-cultural formation, in an important area of beliefs towards healing knowledges that express interculturalism between the humans and the supernatural. Within the borders that separate and connect the colonial and contemporary times, written and oral memories bring up experiences where the native, colonial and diasporic religiosity configure themselves into a deep tinkering with nature and erect a pantheon of Afroindigenous deities in the region. In this article, under the theoretical guidance of Cultural Studies, Postcolonial Thought and Anthropology of Religions, we explore dialogues conducted with memories of a saint father, a medicine man, a Catholic nun and a “Pajé” (a female shaman or witch-doctor), besides the perceptions of a Catholic priest and writings of another female Shaman. The analysis of these sources shows that beliefs in healing knowledges, constituent aspects of Afro-indigenous cosmologies, translate specific modes with which Amazonian populations, especially the Marajoara Amazon ones, deal with enchanted beings, spirits, saints, African orishas in their religious practices. From this perspective, culture is perceived as a territory of interstitial experiences and nature is remade as a cultural landscape, once it suffers interventions and also interferes within the local religious system configuration. Keywords : Healing Knowledges. Nature. Afroindigenous. Interculturalism. Marajoara Amazon. (shrink)

Since the end of the 19th century, Brazilian researchers have speculated about the phenomenon of ethnic coexistence they have witnessed in their country. How may the mixed culture that is its obvious result be explained? Should it be attributed to some sociocultural syncretism, to an interpenetration of civilizations or, quite simply, to a synthesis? Whatever the case, it is certain that cultural elements of very different origins became united in Brazil and that they have remained closely associated there in (...) spite of their disparity. The best example of this “cultural conglomerate,” if we may call it that, is without a doubt that of the Afro-Brazilian religious cults and, although numerous studies have already been devoted to them, they have a richness of content and meaning, plus a capacity for renewal, that is far from being exhaustively investigated. (shrink)

Resumen: Esta lectura propone abordar lo que hemos denominado espacio sagrado, entendiéndolo como la representación literaria de las creencias religiosas y sus manifestaciones rituales presentes en las obras Cherrufe (2008) de Ruth Fuentealba Millaguir y Um defeito de cor [2006] (2009) de Ana María Gonçalves. Planteamos que este espacio hace emerger dentro de la narrativa afrobrasileña y mapuche una sujeto femenina que en su relación con el sistema simbólico de su comunidad entreteje las marcas de género, raza y sexualidad en (...) la constitución subjetiva. Afirmamos también que mediante el vínculo entre la mujeres y lo sagrado la subjetividad que emerge en las obras analizadas se presenta como presevadora y reproductora de la cultura y sus saberes más preciados, imprescindibles para la supervivencia individual y colectiva de sus pueblos. Abstract: This reading suggests to deal with what has been denominated as holy space, understanding it as the literary representation of beliefs and and its ritual manifestations present in the works of Ruth Fuentealba Millaguir, Cherrufe (2008) and Ana Maria Gonçalves Um defeito de cor [2006] (2009). We propose that this space emerges within the Afro-Brazilian and Mapuche narrative a female individual that related with symbolic system of its community interweave the traces of genre, race and sexuality in the subjective constitution. In addition, we claim that through the link between women and the sacred, the subjectivity that emerges in the works analyzed is presented as preserving and reproducing the culture and their most precious knowledge, indispensable for the individual and collective survival of their peoples. (shrink)

Although there are many, mostly male, contemporary writers in Brazil whose narratives of urban violence and social inequality implicitly reflect the impact and legacy of slavery on contemporary society, it is interesting that this shameful period, and shockingly brutal events which seem to prove wrong the myths of gentle colonization and harmonious racial democracy, should be chosen as subject matter by four women writers. While very different novels, Adriana Lisboa’s Os Fios da Memória [The Threads of Memory], Conceição Evaristo's Ponciá (...) Vicêncio, Ana Maria Gonçalves's Um Defeito de Cor [A Defect in Colour] and Tatiana Salem Levy's Paraíso [Paradise] all deal frankly with the horrors of slavery and its aftermaths from the point of view of the most vulnerable member of colonial society: the enslaved African woman. This article analyses the ways in which these writers claim justice for their characters and remind readers that those excluded from official histories had names, faces and voices. (shrink)

Husserl and Spatiality is an exploration of the phenomenology of space and embodiment, based on the work of Edmund Husserl. Little known in architecture, Husserl's phenomenology of embodied spatiality established the foundations for the works of later phenomenologists, including Maurice Merleau-Ponty's well-known phenomenology of perception. Through a detailed study of his posthumously published and unpublished manuscripts, DuFour examines the depth and scope of Husserl's phenomenology of space. The book investigates his analyses of corporeity and the 'lived body,' extending to questions (...) of intersubjective, intergenerational, and historical spatial experience, what DuFour terms the 'environmentality' of space. Combining in-depth architectural philosophical investigations of spatiality with a rich and intimate ethnography, Husserl and Spatiality speaks to themes in social and cultural anthropology from a theoretical perspective that addresses spatial practice and experience. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Brazil, DuFour develops his analyses of Husserl's phenomenology through spatial accounts of ritual in the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé. The result is a methodological innovation and unique mode of spatial description that DuFour terms a 'phenomenological ethnography of space.' The book's profoundly interdisciplinary approach makes an incisive contribution relevant to academics and students of architecture and architectural theory, anthropology and material culture, and philosophy and environmental aesthetics. (shrink)

Resumen: En el presente análisis proponemos una lectura del poemario Poemas da recordação e outros movimentos(2008) de Conceição Evaristo desde una perspectiva de la retórica subalterna, entendiendo lo anterior como la emergencia literaria de otras formas subjetivas. En este sentido afirmamos que en el poemario en análisis la subjetividad de la hablante se construye mediante la voz y el cuerpo femenino, afirmando la diferencia como sustento subjetivo. Abstract: In this analysis it is proposed a reading of the poetry collection of (...) Conceição Evaristo, Poemas da recordação e outros movimentos(2008) from subaltern rhetoric perspective. Understanding the aforementioned as the literary emergence of other subjective forms. In this regard, it is stated that in the poetry collection analyzed, the speaker’s subjectivity is constructed through the voice and female body, affirming difference as subjective sustenance. (shrink)

In the final pages of Chapter V of Afro-Brazilian Religions Roger Bastide sees, at a given moment in the socio-religious evolution of Brazil, a process of social disorganization which in its extent affects not only blacks but also poor white nationals and stranded immigrants.* As generator of a “ social marginalization,” this process could only be the passage through “a moment of transition” characterized by “the exaggerated speed of change in the country.” According to Bastide, an “organic (...) period” follows: with the “proletarization of the blacks, the assimilation of the immigrants, the general rise in the standard of living of the masses, other phenomena of cultural and social reintegration will appear.” On the religious level the “spiritism of umbanda“ is the expression of this new phase. (shrink)

Evangelization is the result of the union between freedom of expression and religious freedom. When one attempts to convince someone of the truthfulness of one's beliefs, one can construct discourses of racial hatred, foment intolerance, hostility, and discrimination against minorities that are historically and socially stigmatized. Works published by catholics and evangelicals have been the object of lawsuits in which they were accused of promoting religious hatred by demonizing Afro-Brazilian religions such as candomblé, umbanda, and spiritism. This (...) imaginary later leads to concrete moral and physical violence. The growing practices of religious intolerance defy the State's lay character. I therefore question the arguments presented by the Supreme Court not to recognize or make accountable Christians' evangelizing discourse that manifests itself as hate speech; why the constitutional criteria recognized to characterize racial hate speech have not been applied in coherent and integral fashion in the trial that dealt with evangelization and religious hate speech; under what arguments hate speech against religions of African matrix can be considered religious racism; what other dimensions religious racism takes in Brazilian society; how religious racism manifests itself as cultural appropriation and environmental racism. (shrink)

Resumo "O candomblé aceita o homossexualismo porque é uma religião que não tem pecado. Não interessa se você seja homem, mulher ou gay. Não importa a opção sexual. (...) Você pode ver. É uma religião de homossexuais". É assim que um filho-de-santo responde a uma pergunta sobre a notável presença de homossexuais iniciados na religião dos orixás. Se comparadas a outras denominações hostis e indiferentes às orientações não-heterossexuais, o candomblé e outras devoções afro-brasileiras são, de fato, mais tolerantes à (...) participação de homossexuais, permitindo-lhes ocupar todos os postos previstos na hierarquia ritual. Embora estejam entre as expressões religiosas que menos discriminam o indivíduo por razões de preferência sexual, percebemos por meio da literatura especializada e de uma pesquisa de campo, realizada na região metropolitana de São Paulo, que os candomblecistas também empregam em seus discursos argumentos ou narrativas míticas, certos princípios e valores seculares articulados à moralidade cristã e que dão sustentação à hierarquia de sexo/gênero - conforme alguns sacerdotes, as categorias homem/mulher e masculino/feminino devem corresponder às expectativas sociais esperadas para cada ser sexuado. Em virtude disso, tratar de homossexualidade nas comunidades-terreiro, ao contrário do que possa parecer, é um tema delicado, restrito e rodeado de tabus. Palavras-chave: Candomblé; Gênero; Sexualidade; Homossexualidade." Candomblé accepts homosexualism because it is a religion where sin does not exist. It does not matter whether you are a man, a woman or gay. Your sexual choice does not matter. [...] You can see it. It is a religion of homosexuals." This is how a filho-de-santo answers a question about the remarkable presence of homosexuals initiated into the orixás ' religion. If compared to other denominations, hostile or indifferent to nonheterosexual orientations, candomblé and other Afro-Brazilian religions are indeed more tolerant to the participation of homosexuals, allowing them to hold all positions in the ritual hierarchy. However, based on the literature and on a field research carried out in the São Paulo metropolitan region, we realized that those affiliated to candomblé , although following one of the religions with the lowest degree of prejudice against individuals due to their sexual preference, also employ in their discourse arguments or mythical narratives, secular principles and values articulated with Christian morality, which support the sex/gender hierarchy: according to some priests, man/woman and male/female categories must correspond to the social expectations of each sexual being. Thus, on the contrary, approaching homosexuality in Afro-Brazilian religious communities is a delicate and restricted matter, surrounded by taboos. Key words: Candomblé; Gender; Sexuality; Homosexuality. (shrink)

As religiões de matriz africana no Brasil possuem um rico e complexo sistema de crenças, ritos e mitos que caracterizam a sua experiência religiosa. Este trabalho limita-se a estudar alguns temas religiosos do Candomblé de raiz nagô. A ideia de criação funda-se na concepção de um duplo cosmos, organizado em dois planos: o universo físico (aiyê) e o seu duplo espiritual (órum). Deus (Olorum), concebido como ser supremo e criador de todos os outros seres, estabelece relação com os seres humanos (...) pela mediação dos ancestrais coletivos (Orixás) e familiares (Egúns). Não há uma separação nítida entre os Orixás, enquanto divindades relacionadas às forças da natureza, e os ancestrais fundadores do povo. A partir dessas concepções, destaca-se o Axé como o elemento mais importante dessa tradição, perpassando todo o seu drama religioso na busca de uma experiência na participação na força vital (Deus), envolvendo a vida dos adeptos e as suas relações sociais na comunidade do terreiro de Candomblé. Palavras chave: Espiritualidade nagô. Religiosidade afro-brasileira. Axé.The religions of African origin in Brazil have a rich and complex system of beliefs, rites and myths, which characterizes their religious experience. This work aims to study some of the religious themes' Candomblé Nago. The idea of ​​creation is based on the design of a dual cosmos, organized in two levels: the physical universe (Aiye) and its spiritual double (Orum). God (Olorun), conceived as the supreme being and creator of all other beings, establishes relationship with humans through the mediation of collective ancestors (Orishas) and their families (EGUNS). There is no clear separation between the Orishas as deities related to the forces of nature, and the founding ancestors of the people. Based on these concepts, the Axe is highlighted as the most important element of this tradition, passing all his religious drama in search of an experience of participation in the life force (God), involving the lives of followers and their social relations within the community of Candomblé titled Terreiro. Key-words: Nago spirituality. Afro-Brazilian religiosity. Axé. (shrink)

Book review: SENNA, Ronaldo de Salles; AGUIAR, Itamar Pereira de. Remanso: uma comunidade mágico-religiosa. O fantástico apoiado em uma mundividência afrodescendente – aspectos das ambivalências sociais, geográficas e históricas. Feira de Santa: UEFS Editora, 2016.

Trilogia da ancestralidade : ensaios de filosofia Africana -- Introdução -- I. Verso e re-verso da pureza nagô -- II. Da pureza nagô à (re) Africanização -- III. Da (re) Africanização à ancestralidade -- Considerações finais.

Esta obra pretende atender uma necessidade referente ao tema imposto pela Lei 10.639, de 09 de janeiro de 2003, que inclui nos currículos escolares a temática afro-brasileira. Não é uma obra que aborda preceitos, rituais, mitos e fundamentos religiosos. Mas sim que trata de questões éticas, sociais, filosóficas e históricas sobre o culto aos Orixás no Brasil.

The Brazilian ayahuasca religions, Santo Daime, Barquinha, and União do Vegetal, have increasingly sought formal recognition by government agencies in Brazil and other countries to guarantee their legal use of ayahuasca, which contains DMT, a substance that is listed. This article focuses on new alliances and rifts that have emerged between and among different ayahuasca groups as they have sought and in some cases achieved formal recognition and legitimacy at the state and national levels in Brazil and abroad. (...) It presents a historical overview of the origin of the main ayahuasca religions, and their connections to the Amazon region and the state of Acre in particular, where the political environment has facilitated petitions seeking the elevation of ayahuasca as cultural and historical heritage in Acre and Brazil. This process has resulted in the active selection of certain symbolic, cultural, and historical elements and subtle changes in the ways various ayahuasca groups represent themselves in the public sphere. It also resulted in the reconfiguration of political alliances and a recasting of the historical facts regarding origins. The article reflects on notions of origin, place, authenticity, and tradition throughout the ongoing transformation of ayahuasca from “dangerous drug” to state and national heritage. (shrink)

As William Hart notes, we live in a deconstructive age. Whether we read Derrida or not, many of us in and outside of the academy are invested in destabilizing established narratives, ideas, and categories. Similarly, we are eager to show how dominant narratives and categories tend to cover over more promising ways of imagining and interpreting the world. Recently, this deconstructive spirit has been directed toward discourses about the black church, black religion, and black cultures more generally. Authors like Curtis (...) Evans, Eddie Glaude, Anthony Pinn, and Barbara Savage, for instance, have challenged hoary tendencies to imagine the black church as a monolithic whole, to assume that black folk are naturally .. (shrink)

O presente artigo pretende analisar a ideia de pessoa entre os yorùbás da África Ocidental, a partir da conceção de orí , i. e., a cabeça, entendida entre eles como portadora de personalidade e destino, ideia amplamente difundida pela literatura sobre a matéria da personalidade humana e sentidos de destino. A partir do orí , adentrar-se-á pela problemática da predestinação entre os yorùbás e o sentido do ritual de alimento à cabeça, o b ọ rí, entre os yorùbás, com referência (...) aos afro-brasileiros do Candomblé. A problematização conduzir-nos-á à constatação da pluralidade interpretativa do objeto, ao mesmo tempo que nos deixará diante da questão linguística da tradução dos conceitos, facto que influi na própria construção teológica. Ao mesmo tempo estaremos diante da construção histórica da religião yorùbá, notoriamente uma religião dinâmica e mutável que se fabrica nos diálogos com o cristianismo e islamismo. Processos de transformação que, aliás, são transponíveis para o Brasil, onde a celebração do orí se apresenta de modo diferenciado face à realidade autóctone africana. Palavras-chave : Yorùbás. Concepção de pessoa. Orí. Predestinação. Bọrí.The present paper aims to analyze the idea of person among the Yorùbá people of Western Africa, taking into account the conception of orí , i.e., the head, which is understood by them as the bowl of human personality and destiny. Those ideas are clearly present in the plural literature concerning the human personality and its destination among the Yorùbá people. Taking the orí as starting point, I shall problematize the predestination idea among the Yorùbá and the meaning of the b ọ rí , the ritual presented as ‘feeding-the-head’. Such process will be extended to Afro-Brazilian religious system named Candomblé. The problematization will guide my observation to the dramatic plurality of interpretations concerning destiny, while it will spell out the linguistic dilemmas around the translation of concepts. Those dilemmas influence, clearly, the theological construction of the object. At the same time, the paper will deliver us to the evidence of the historical construction of Yorùbá religion, which is a mutable and dynamic religious expression, highly crossed with Christianity and Islam (in African contexts). Those processes of transformation are also clear in Brazil, where the celebration of orí has different religious attitudes comparing to African native ones. Keywords: Yorùbá. Idea of person. Orí. Predestination. Bọrí. (shrink)

Judaism is one of the oldest surviving religious traditions in the world. The Jews, who base their history on Abraham and his son Isaac, began to be called religion with Moses. The Jews, who lived their golden age in and around Jerusalem during the David and Solomon periods, also built the Temple, which was at the center of their religious life. The Jews, who rebuilt the Temple during the Babylonian exile and subsequently Ezra's reign, lived in these lands until the (...) destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD. The statelessness that started after the destruction of the temple had an important place in the Jewish identity. The exile life, which continued for two thousand years, caused the Jews to go to different parts of the world and live there. In this period, which is expressed as the period of exile, Jews lived in many regions such as Africa, Anatolia, Europe and America. The arrival of the Jews in the Americas dates back to the Columbus era. Jews were present in South America and subsequently in the British colonies. Currently, most of the Jews in the world live in the USA. Among the Jews who went to the Americas, Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews constitute the majority. However, in the Americas, Jews have formed different groups over time. These include groups such as Conservative, Orthodox, Reformist, and Reconstructionist. Jewish groups formed by African-Americans also have a special place among these formations. These African-American Jews in the USA, are discussed within the framework of this article. In the article, firstly, a piece of brief information about Judaism in America was given, and then the relations between Blacks and Jews were discussed. Afterward, the main features of these formations, which are of African origin and consider themselves the descendants of the Israelites, are emphasized. Finally, the Jewish groups established by Black Jews were contacted and if they had different practices and beliefs from the others, they were included. The research was carried out based on the literature review and information was given about the prominent black Jewish groups. (shrink)

Based on an extended fieldwork, the paper discusses the construction of identity in a Brazilian quilombo - a term originally used by the Portuguese authorities to juridically define the flights of the Brazilian slaves. Appealing to a Constitutional Article granting the property of the land to the descendant of the fugitive slaves, the people of Frechal (Maranhão) obtained - after complex events overshadowed by tension and violence - the expropriation of the land bought by an entrepreneur of São (...) Paulo with the precise intent to forcibly expel the local population. Founding their right on an idea of cultural authenticity and mobilizing a symbolism capable of legitimating their claims and of giving them a legal weight, they transformed themselves from object of slavery, discrimination and racism to ethno-political subjects. Proceeding from the analysis of this paradigmatic case, the article shows how the term quilombo can be "re-semanticized" in order to be applicable to the contemporary situations of the Afro-Brazilian population. The actuality of the word, transferred from its original juridical meaning of colonial matrix, is founded on the idea that the quilombo s are not isolated survivals of the past to honor in the memory of the heroes that fought against slavery. Rather they represent true projects of a new political order, nuclei of the contemporary resistance founded on the collective property of the land. As such the quilombos are considered as real counterpoints to the neoliberal expansion in the rural areas. (shrink)

The idea of afro-existentialism connotes how Africans make sense of living and the meaning and meaninglessness attached to human existence. Different phenomena inform the way humans interpret existence, and one of such in the contemporary period, with great influence on Africans, is human involvement with non-human intelligence, in its different eruptions. This paper focuses on the second-wave AI, which is a period of improved simulation of natural intelligence, whose singularity principle hypothesizes individualist motives. The paper asks, to what extent (...) do Afroexistential norms accommodate second-wave AI? Partly in disagreement with the claim that AI is for everyone, we argue that second-wave artificial intelligence weakly adapts to Afro-existential practices, which is largely communal, emphasizing shared experience. We justify this claim by arguing that Western ethical patterns, which inform the features of the second-wave AI such as statistical patterns, smart algorithm, specialized hardware, and big data sets, emerge from individualist notions. This paper argues that second-wave AI trends do not reflect African norms of existence being factored into ordering algorithmic patterns that set up AI systems and programs. We infer that Afro-existential practices unsettles with the individualist principle which underlines second-wave AI and therefore, a conversation around the development and application of communal interpretation of AI is important. (shrink)

Dans les religions afro-brésiliennes, le contact avec les divinités s’établit par le biais de la transe. L’article, qui se fonde sur les travaux de Roger Bastide et Pierre Verger, identifie qui sont les personnes aptes à entrer en transe pour communiquer avec les dieux. On étudie ensuite comment elles préparent leur corps à recevoir leur dieu, et comment elles l’entretiennent de façon à ce que la transe puisse se répéter au cours de la vie religieuse d’une communauté. Ces (...) personnes jouissent d’un statut social particulier au sein de la communauté, car d’une part elles ont commerce avec les dieux, et d’autre part ce commerce leur donne pouvoir à orienter la vie de la communauté. Il y a donc interaction entre le corps de l’individu et le corps social qui l’entoure et qui adhère à la croyance. L’anthropologie moderne a redonné un statut à la fois aux « possédés » et aux cultes afro-brésiliens, alors que les premiers scientifiques qui les ont étudiés ne voyaient en la transe que la manifestation d’une folie. (shrink)

El presente artículo es el resultado de reflexiones teóricas-metodológicas alrededor del estudio del fenómeno religioso, específicamente el que concierne al de sistemas religiosos de inspiración afro en Colombia entre 2003-2023. El objetivo es analizar las problemáticas de la investigación sobre estos sistemas religiosos en diáspora dentro del contexto nacional. La discusión señala una serie de tensiones y contradicciones teóricas-metodológicas en las que se ven involucradas/os las/os investigadoras/es insertas/os en el mundo académico, las cuales inician desde el momento mismo en (...) que seleccionan su tema de investigación, los referentes teóricos-metodológicos, conceptuales y el tipo de escritura que habrán de emplear a lo largo de los distintos estudios. Así, quienes investigan sobre fenómenos religiosos son vistos con suspicacia dentro de la academia, una que persiste en oponer asuntos tales como objetividad/subjetividad, outsider/insider, ciencia/religión o verdad/creencia. Finalmente, estas discusiones devienen en cuestionamientos éticos del modo como se hace investigación sobre estas dinámicas socioculturales que adquieren relevancia en Colombia y el mundo contemporáneo. (shrink)

This article draws our attention to the centrality of the normative idea of personhood in elucidating a robust Afro-communitarianism. To do so, it visits the debate between the so-called moderate and radical communitarians to argue that the assertion that a community takes priority over an individual is not an implausible position. It argues that this assertion, given a nuanced moral interpretation, can offer a promising African perspective on how to secure a life of dignity without necessarily appealing to rights (...) but to the normative idea of personhood. It submits that the idea of personhood entails a morality of duties that prioritizes the well-being of all. It is this prioritization of the well-being of all as the proper moral-political goal of Afro-communitarianism that moral-theoretically captures the essence of the assertion that a community takes priority over an individual. Keywords: Afro-communitarianism, Duties, Personhood, Rights, Ubuntu. (shrink)

Este artigo apresenta a evolução e a consolidação da categoria de pessoas que se declaram sem religião nos recenseamentos brasileiros desde a década de 1960. Embora este grupo tenha sido apresentado como se fosse homogêneo, os resultados de nossa pesquisa revelaram um grupo claramente heterogêneo, composto por tipos diferenciados de indivíduos e atitudes: daqueles aparentemente secularizados àqueles que misturam diferentes modelos de religiosidade, reproduzindo algumas das principais tendências dos tempos atuais, movidos por uma intensa reflexividade que desafia os dogmas e (...) pela reivindicação da liberdade de fé e expressão. Além disso, a categoria dos sem religião marca a divisão entre as pessoas que se identificam co um grupo religioso daquelas que mantêm a distância das instituições religiosas tradicionais. Assim, aproximar-se ou afastar-se do transcendente torna-se uma questão de foro íntimo, cuja decisão cabe a cada individuo na sua intimidade, o que indica uma crise contemporânea da afiliação estimulada peã reavaliação dos laços tradicionais. Palavras-chave: Sem religião. Recenseamentos. Desinstitucionalização. Crise do Pertencimento. Destradicionalização.This article presents the evolution and the consolidation of the category of people that declare themselves “without religion” in Brazilian census since the 1960s. Although this group has been presented as it was homogeneous, the results of our survey revealed a visibly heterogeneous group, composed by different types of individuals and attitudes: from those groups apparently secularized to those who mix up several models of religiosity, reproducing some of the major tendencies of the present time, moved by an intense reflexivity that challenges dogmas and also moved by the claiming of liberty of faith and expression. Moreover, the category of people of without religion marks the division between people identified as a religious group from those that keep distance from the traditional institutions. Thus, getting closer or moving away from the transcendent becomes a matter of private choice, a decision of each individual in its intimacy which indicates a contemporary crisis of affiliation stimulated by the revaluation of the tradition ties. Key words : Without religion. Censuses. Deinstitutionalization. Detraditionalization. Crisis of belonging. (shrink)

Sociological accounts usually emphasise the primacy of phenotype (cor, colour) over ancestry for orienting concepts of ‘race’ in Brazil. In this paper, I present an alternative account of the cultural and political significance of ancestry in contemporary Brazil, drawing on qualitative interviews conducted with 50 Brazilians who had recently taken personalised DNA ancestry tests. The interviewees’ attitudes towards their ancestry are interpreted in relation to Brazil’s longstanding national myth of mestiçagem and the history of eugenic Whitening ideologies (ideologias do branqueamento) (...) that have sought to erase traces of Brazil’s African origins. However, they are also interpreted also against the backdrop of contemporary Black Movement activism that aims to actively recovering Afro-Brazilian histories and memories from these processes of erasure. (shrink)

A partir do final do século passado, na esteira das preocupações e debates sobre a biodiversidade, chega-se à afirmação da importância da Amazônia. No bojo dessa dinâmica, colocam-se também as pressões internacionais e as políticas estatais para a região e para as populações tradicionais, nela concentradas. Até então alijadas dos interesses políticos do Estado, estas populações passam agora a ser vistas como detentoras de culturas, de saberes "locais", cruciais diante da necessidade "global" de conservação da biodiversidade. Em estreita mescla com (...) os saberes tradicionais, expressam-se inumeráveis formas de religiosidade, dentre as quais se destacam a "encantaria" e a pajelança. Em relação à Amazônia brasileira, esse lugar central ocupado pela religiosidade é tratado via três eixos: presença da Igreja Católica e de outras organizações religiosas em seus processos organizativos; politização da natureza e da religiosidade associada à emergência de múltiplas identidades coletivas; importância da "encantaria" e da pajelança ecológica para a conservação da biodiversidade. Palavras-chave: biodiversiade; religiosidade; Amazônia; encantaria; políticas estatais.From the end of the last century, at the base of the concerns and debates on biodiversity, one comes to asserting the importance of the Amazon. Amid this dynamic, there are also international pressure and public policies for the region and its traditional people. It is known that such populations have Ordinarily being shut out from the political interests of the state. However, these traditional population is beginning to be understood as having cultures, there is to say, "local" knowledge, given the crucial need for "global " biodiversity conservation. Closely intertwined with traditional knowledge, innumerable forms of religiosity is expressed, among which is highlighted the so called "encantaria" and "pajelança". Regarding the Brazilian Amazon, this central place occupied by religiosity is handled via three routes: the presence of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations in their organizational processes; politicization of nature and of religiosity associated with the emergence of multiple collective identities; the importance of the so called "encantaria" and of the ecological "pajelança" (shamanism) towards conservation of biodiversity. Key words: biodiversity; religiosity; Amazon; encantaria; public policies. (shrink)

Afro-communalism has been largely conceptualized as a system in which individuals attain meaningfulness from the point of view of the community. We assess the implications of Afro-communalism on the individual’s rights. With particular focus on the transformative values of non-conformist features of individualism, this paper shows how Afro-communalism’s emphasis on the community is counter-productive. Our approach goes beyond the argument that Afro-communalism stifles the autonomy of the individual. Instead, we demonstrate how the community’s conformist expectations from (...) the individual within the Afro-communalist system, sets the community against the individual and against itself. We draw the conclusion that Afro-communalism as a project is no longer relevant and needs to end. We do this by showing how most of the interpretations of Afro-communalism are attempts to sustain a reductive contrast between the West and Africa. We also show how that contrast exaggerates the idea of community in Africa, to the detriment of a balance between the individual’s right and her duties to the community. Keywords: Afro-communalism, individualism, non-conformist expectations, community, individual autonomy, Africa. (shrink)

Limited communitarianism is presented as an alternative to classical communitarianism in African philosophy. Bernard Matolino, the proponent of this view, argues that personhood can be attained with the constitutive features of the self leading the process, as against the historical, classical communitarian view that prioritises the sociality of the self. He posits that it is a personhood conceived through such view as limited communitarianism that can guarantee individual rights and prioritises the claims of the individual in African philosophy. Matolino’s claim (...) is grounded on the view that Afro-communitarianism, as presented in the classical account such as the radical and moderate communitarianism of Menkiti and Gyekye, respectively, emphasises community essence in African philosophy and hinders the expression of rights. The claim of the classical view informs the nudge to question the relevance and compatibility of Afro- communitarianism with the complex, multicultural modern African societies. As a result, limited communitarianism rejects the mechanism of Afrocommunitarianism – essentialism. While limited communitarianism appears a rejection of what is known as Afro- communitarianism, which has earned it noncommunitarian labels such as being liberal and individualist, I argue that it is simply a well- argued form of moderate communitarianism that avoids the conundrum of community. (shrink)

I argue that individual autonomy and rights can be defended but only in African or qualified version of communitarianism. I posit that there are two possible versions of communitarianism: the qualified or the African and the unqualified or the version discussed mostly by Western scholars. I show that Ifeanyi Menkiti, Kwame Gyekye, Michael Eze and Bernard Matolino have formulated communitarian theories of right in African philosophy. I explain that while Menkiti and Gyekye erroneously employed the unqualified version in their proposals, (...) Eze and Matolino who employed the qualified version failed to ground it in a non-Western or African logic. I argue that while the Western or Aristotelian logic grounds the unqualified version making it difficult to defend autonomy and rights within it, an African logic can be used to ground a qualified version of communitarianism in order to bring out an important African cultural value such as complementarity which affirms the identity of the individual first, so as to justify other communal values such as solidarity and common good, etc. I therefore contend that the qualified version is the correct specimen for analysing the individual-community relationship in African philosophy in which autonomy and rights can be defended. Keywords: individual autonomy, rights, African philosophy, Afro-communitarianism, Menkiti, Gyekye, Eze, Matolino. (shrink)

An examination of oracles in popular forms of Cuban espiritismo invites a rethinking of the role of “randomness” and “context” in the anthropology of divination. Through an analysis of the ways by which spirit mediums develop as persons, and their implications for the mechanics of divination, I argue that among espiritistas the meaning of particular configurations cannot be separated from the event that brings them about. Relatively simple in their properties (e.g. water), spiritist oracles function to provide impulse to a (...) perceived metaphysical universe that requires the generation of movement in order to achieve instantiation. The argument is that this movement provides a background of chaos essential to the purpose of divination. To demonstrate this, I forward an analogy to the language of electronic voice phenomena in parapsychology, in particular with its concept of “noise.” In both EVP and espiritismo, “noise” is the substance that allows spirits to communicate. (shrink)