African diaspora religions , also described as Afro-American religions , are a number of related beliefs 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 .
101-538: Candomblé ( Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐ̃dõˈblɛ] ) 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 and Central Africa, especially those of the Yoruba , Bantu , and Gbe , coupled with influences from Roman Catholicism . There is no central authority in control of Candomblé, which
202-427: A mãe de santo (priestess) or pai de santo (priest). A central ritual involves practitioners drumming, singing, and dancing to encourage an orixá to possess one of their members, with whom congregants can then interact. The orixás are given offerings such as fruit and sacrificed animals , while their will is deciphered through divination . Offerings may also be given to lesser spirits, including caboclos and
303-592: A Brazilian practitioner including a statue of the Mahayana Buddhist deity Hotei on their altar, and of a Belgian Candomblé group that incorporated characters from Welsh and Slavic mythologies in their practice. Candomblé has sometimes also been influenced by Spiritism , a French variant of Spiritualism , although many Spiritists distinguish their religion from Afro-Brazilian traditions. Afro-Brazilian religions often mix with each other rather than existing in pure forms, with many scholars viewing them on
404-421: A V- syllable at the start). In other words, a strong claim for this language family is that almost all words end in a vowel, precisely because closed syllables (CVC) are not permissible in most of the documented languages, as far as is understood. This tendency to avoid consonant clusters in some positions is important when words are imported from English or other non-Bantu languages. An example from Chewa :
505-471: A continuum rather than as wholly discrete entities. Candomblé shares the names of its deities, the orixás , with Umbanda , a religion formed in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s. Umbandista groups exist on a spectrum from those emphasising connections to Spiritism to those stressing links with Afro-Brazilian religions like Candomblé; the anthropologist Diana Brown noted that the boundary separating Umbanda from Candomblé
606-495: A dance style in Argentina and Uruguay, Candombe . Another word sometimes applied to Candomblé is macumba ; this generic term can be applied to Afro-Brazilian religions as a whole but is especially associated with sorcery or black magic , and thus some Candomblécistas distance themselves from it. Candomblé is not institutionalised, with no central authority to determine doctrine and orthodoxy, and no central sacred text. It
707-668: A designation referring indiscriminately to language, culture, society, and race"." The Bantu languages descend from a common Proto-Bantu language , which is believed to have been spoken in what is now Cameroon in Central Africa . An estimated 2,500–3,000 years ago (1000 BC to 500 BC), speakers of the Proto-Bantu language began a series of migrations eastward and southward, carrying agriculture with them. This Bantu expansion came to dominate Sub-Saharan Africa east of Cameroon, an area where Bantu peoples now constitute nearly
808-491: A diaspora with little contact with the point of origin (Africa) to one that maintains active contact with the mother continent; all culminating in the birth of a unique African who straddles continents, worlds and cultures. There are several conceptual difficulties in defining the African diaspora—indeed, in defining the term diaspora . Contemporary theorizations of the term diaspora tend to be preoccupied with problematizing
909-414: A distant third place with 8.2 million speakers ( South Africa and Zimbabwe ), and Shona with less than 10 million speakers (if Manyika and Ndau are included), while Sotho-Tswana languages ( Sotho , Tswana and Pedi ) have more than 15 million speakers (across Botswana , Lesotho , South Africa, and Zambia ). Zimbabwe has Kalanga, Matebele, Nambiya, and Xhosa speakers. Ethnologue separates
1010-404: A force for absolute evil but rather thought capable of both good and bad acts. Practitioners believe that the exus can "open" or "close" the "roads" of fate in one's life, bringing about both help and harm. Candomblé teaches that the exus can be induced to do a practitioner's bidding, although need to be carefully controlled. The exus are recorded as having been part of Candomblé since at least
1111-424: A material object, giving them an African-derived name, and then considering them a pledged slave of the orixás . Candomblé adopts its cosmology largely from Yoruba traditional religion. The material world of humanity is called aiê (or aiye ); the realm of the spirits is termed orun , and is divided into nine levels. Death is personified in the figure of Iku . A person's inner head, in which their tutelary orixá
SECTION 10
#17327982831991212-598: A multi-level altar decorated with ribbons, colored lights, and flowers. The key part of the assentamento is a sacred stone known as an otá . This otá possesses axé , and thus requires feeding. Each orixá is associated with a different kind of stone; those from the ocean or rivers are for instance linked to Oxum and Iemanjá, while those believed to have fallen from the sky are linked to Xangô. Practitioners are expected to find these stones, rather than buying them, after which they will be ritually consecrated, being washed, given offerings, and "seated" in their vessel. Alongside
1313-467: A nation for reasons other than ethnic heritage. An initiate can transfer from one nation to another, a process referred to as trocar as águas ("to change the waters"). Attitudes between nations can be negative; those groups which emphasise claims to "African purity" have often denigrated other nations they deem more syncretic, with the Angola nation sometimes regarded as the most syncretic. The Nagô nation
1414-856: A person belongs to; in Nagô Candomblé, a male priest is called a babalorixá , a female priestess an iyalorixá . Serving as intermediaries between the orixás and humanity, this priesthood is responsible for all important functions, including educating novices, adjudicating disputes, and providing healing and divination services, these latter services often being their primary income. Not constrained by external religious authorities, these "parents of saints" often exert considerable control over their initiates. The latter are expected to submit to their authority, and to prostrate before them in an act called an iká ; however, conflicts between these "parents" and their initiates are common. A terreiro will often disband when its chief priest or priestess dies. Assisting
1515-499: A person can also have a fourth orixá , inherited from a deceased relative. Another spirit group in the Candomblé worldview are the exus , sometimes termed exuas when female, or exu-mirims when children. Deemed closer to humanity than the orixás and thus more accessible, the exus are often regarded as the "slaves" of the orixás . In common parlance they are often described as "devils", although in Candomblé are not regarded as
1616-486: A range of private ritual acts. Most of the rituals that take place at the terreiros are private and open only to initiates. Walker believed that it was these that represented "the real core of the religious life of the Candomblé community." The community of a terreiro is called an egbé . This is regarded as a "family", its initiates being "brothers" and "sisters" in the orixás ( irmãos de Santo or irmãs de santo ). Sexual or romantic relations between terreiro members
1717-512: A subterfuge to retain the worship of African deities under European rule, although such syncretisms could have already been occurring in Africa prior to the Atlantic slave trade. From the later 20th century, some practitioners have attempted to distance the orixás from the saints as a means of re-emphasising the religion's West African origins. The anthropologist Robert A. Voeks observed that it
1818-430: Is Obá , a warrior who has only one ear. Ogum is the orixá of battle and of iron, often depicted with a machete; his companion is Oxóssi , the male orixá of the hunt and forest. Obaluaiê or Omolu is the orixá associated with infectious disease and its cure, while Osanyin is associated with leaves, herbs, and herbal knowledge. Oya is the orixá of wind and storms. Oxumaré is regarded as both male and female and
1919-524: Is a recurring theme throughout Candomblé. Many roles within the religion are gendered. For instance, animal sacrifice and the shaving of an initiate's head are usually reserved for male practitioners, while women are typically responsible for domestic duties in maintaining the ritual space. Such divisions mirror broader gender norms in Brazilian society. Restrictions are also placed on women while menstruating. However, women can still wield significant power as
2020-427: Is an initiatory religion, one which is organized around a structured hierarchy based on initiatory status. Knowledge about Candomblé's beliefs and practices is referred to as the fundamentos (foundations"), and is guarded by practitioners. It makes use of secrecy, and so Johnson has characterised it as a secret society . African-derived terms are used in ritual contexts; in general, words of Yoruba origin predominate in
2121-406: Is associated with specific colours, foods, animals, and minerals, favoring certain offerings. Each orixá is associated with a particular day of the week; the priesthood also states that each year is governed by a specific orixá who will influence the events taking place within it. Their personalities are informed by a key conceptual opposition in Candomblé, that of the cool versus the hot. Oxalá
SECTION 20
#17327982831992222-507: Is believed to reside, is called the ori . Spirits of the dead are called eguns . The recently deceased are termed aparacá ; after they have been "educated" by receiving sacrifices they become babá . After death, the egun can enter orun , although the level they reach depends on the spiritual growth they attained in life. Sometimes, eguns will seek to help the living but inadvertently harm them; given this potential, Candomblé stresses precautions in dealing with these entities. Contact with
2323-435: Is considered a favourite of Xangô, Obá, and Iansã. When placed in the terreiro , food is typically left in place for between one and three days, sufficient time for the orixá to consume the food's essence. The ritual payment of money, often accompanying the sacrifices, is termed dinheiro do chão ("money for the floor"). As part of this, money is placed onto the floor and often splattered with blood, before being divided among
2424-470: Is deemed to contain axé in its most concentrated form. Humans can accumulate axé , but also either lose or transfer it. Specific rituals and obligations are believed to maintain and enhance a person's axé , while other ritual acts are designed to attract or share this force. Dendê , a sacred palm oil used to cook ritual meals, is considered to be a materialized form of axé . Candomblé generally has no fixed ethical precepts, although its teachings influence
2525-503: Is divided into denominations, known as nations, based on which traditional African belief system has been its primary influence. The most prominent nations are the Ketu , Jeje , and Angola . Candomblé is centred in Brazil although smaller communities exist elsewhere, especially in other parts of South America. Both in Brazil and abroad Candomblé has spread beyond its Afro-Brazilian origins and
2626-1174: Is hampered by insufficient data. Simplified phylogeny of northwestern branches of Bantu by Grollemund (2012): A40-50-60-70: Basaa languages , Bafia languages , Mbam languages , Beti language A10-20-30: Sawabantu languages , Manenguba languages A80-90: Makaa–Njem languages B20: Kele languages B10: Myene language B30: Tsogo languages C10-20-30: Ngondi–Ngiri languages , Mboshi languages , Bangi–Ntomba languages C40-D20-D32: Bati–Angba languages , Lega–Binja languages , Bira language B80-C60-70-80: Boma–Dzing languages , Soko languages , Tetela languages , Bushoong languages B40-H10-30-B50-60-70: Sira languages , Kongo languages , Yaka languages , Nzebi languages , Mbete languages , Teke languages L10-H40: Pende languages , Hungana language C50-D10: Soko languages , Lengola language D10-20-30-40-JD50: Mbole–Enya languages , Komo–Bira languages , Shi–Havu languages Other computational phylogenetic analyses of Bantu include Currie et al. (2013), Grollemund et al. (2015), Rexova et al. 2006, Holden et al., 2016, and Whiteley et al. 2018. Glottolog ( 2021 ) does not consider
2727-615: Is heterogenous, displaying regional variation in its beliefs and practices. Each lineage or community of practitioners is autonomous, approaching the religion in ways informed by their tradition and the choices of their leader. Most Candomblecistas also practice Roman Catholicism—some priests and priestesses of Candomblé refuse to initiate anyone who is not a baptised Roman Catholic—while other practitioners have also pursued Evangelical Protestantism , New Age practices, or Buddhism . Sometimes these non-Candomblist elements have been directly integrated into Candomblé itself; there are reports of
2828-479: Is largely honorific, consisting largely of contributing financially. An individual who has taken steps toward initiation but not yet undergone this process is termed an abiã or abian . An initiate of less than seven years is an iaô or iyawó ; after seven years they may undergo the deká ceremony and thus be regarded as an ebomi , allowing them to open their own terreiro . Those who have performed seven years of initiatory rituals are called ebomi or ebame . At
2929-666: Is likely the innovative line cladistically . Northwest Bantu is not a coherent family, but even for Central Bantu the evidence is lexical, with little evidence that it is a historically valid group. Another attempt at a detailed genetic classification to replace the Guthrie system is the 1999 "Tervuren" proposal of Bastin, Coupez, and Mann. However, it relies on lexicostatistics , which, because of its reliance on overall similarity rather than shared innovations , may predict spurious groups of conservative languages that are not closely related . Meanwhile, Ethnologue has added languages to
3030-548: Is mainly geographic. The term "narrow Bantu" was coined by the Benue–Congo Working Group to distinguish Bantu as recognized by Guthrie, from the Bantoid languages not recognized as Bantu by Guthrie. In recent times, the distinctiveness of Narrow Bantu as opposed to the other Southern Bantoid languages has been called into doubt, but the term is still widely used. There is no true genealogical classification of
3131-624: Is often equated with Saint Lazarus the leper. Oxalá has been conflated with Our Lord of Bonfim , Oxum with Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception , and Ogum with St Anthony of Padua . Due to his association with time, Tempo is sometimes equated with the Christian idea of the Holy Spirit . In Candomblé altars, the orixás are often represented with images and statues of Roman Catholic saints. This process may have begun as
Candomblé - Misplaced Pages Continue
3232-556: Is organized around autonomous terreiros (houses). Candomblé venerates spirits, known varyingly as orixás , inkice , or vodun , which are deemed subservient to a transcendent creator god, Oludumaré . Deriving their names and attributes from traditional West African deities, the orixás are linked with Roman Catholic saints. Each individual is believed to have a tutelary orixá who has been connected to them since before birth and who informs their personality. An initiatory tradition, Candomblé's members usually meet in terreiros run by
3333-405: Is paid to the historical conditions and experiences that produce diasporic communities and consciousness—how dispersed populations become self-conscious diaspora communities. Bantu languages The Bantu languages (English: UK : / ˌ b æ n ˈ t uː / , US : / ˈ b æ n t uː / Proto-Bantu: *bantʊ̀) are a language family of about 600 languages that are spoken by
3434-474: Is portrayed as a serpent or a rainbow. Oxum is the orixá of love, beauty, wealth and luxury, and is associated with fresh water, fish, mermaids, and butterflies. She is married to Ifa, regarded as the orixá of divination. Tempo is the orixá of time; originating in the Angola nation, he is associated with trees. Due to the link with trees, he is sometimes equated with the Nagô orixá Loko . The orixá Exú
3535-413: Is practiced by individuals of various ethnicities. Candomblé is a "neo-African" or African American religion, and more specifically an Afro-Brazilian religion. It arose in 19th-century Brazil, where the imported traditional African religions of enslaved West Africans had to adapt to a slave colony in which Roman Catholicism was the official religion. It is thus one of several religions that emerged in
3636-564: Is regarded as a capricious trickster; as the guardian of entrances, he facilitates contact between humanity and the other orixá , thus usually being honoured and fed first in any ritual. His ritual paraphernalia is often kept separate from that of other orixás , while the entrances to most terreiros will have a clay head, decorated with cowries or nails, that represents Exú and is given offerings. The orixás are regarded as having different aspects, known as marcas ("types" or "qualities"), each of which may have an individual name. Child forms of
3737-423: Is sometimes interpreted as the cause of mental illness. Depending on the orixá in question, an initiate may choose to avoid or to engage in certain activities, such as avoiding specific foods or wearing specific colours. Some practitioners also believe in further orixá linked to an individual; a second is known as the juntó , while a third is called the adjuntó , the tojuntó , or the dijuntó . Some believe that
3838-442: Is spilled onto the altar; its organs are often removed and placed around the "seat" of the orixá . Following the sacrifice, is it common for divination to be performed to determine if the sacrifice has been accepted. Other body parts will then be consumed by the rite's participants; the exception is if the sacrifice was for eguns , which is instead left to rot or placed in a river. Some of the food may then be taken away, to be left in
3939-399: Is the chief orixá , depicted as a frail old man who walks with a pachorô sceptre as a walking stick. Practitioners commonly believe that Olorun tasked him with creating humanity. In some accounts, all of the junior orixás are the children of Oxalá and one of his two wives, Nanã and Iemanjá . This trio are associated with water; Oxalá with fresh water, Nanã with the rain, and Iemanjá with
4040-459: Is the extensive use of affixes (see Sotho grammar and Ganda noun classes for detailed discussions of these affixes). Each noun belongs to a class , and each language may have several numbered classes, somewhat like grammatical gender in European languages. The class is indicated by a prefix that is part of the noun, as well as agreement markers on verb and qualificative roots connected with
4141-638: Is the largest, reflecting how Yoruba traditional religion became the dominant West African influence within Afro-Brazilian religions in the 19th century, and even among nations other than the Nagô, Yoruba-derived terminology predominates widely. Candomblé teaches the existence of a supreme divinity called Olorun or Olodumare . This entity is regarded as the creator of everything but is thought distant and unapproachable, and thus not specifically worshipped in Candomblé. Candomblé revolves around spirits termed orixás ( orishas ) or santos ("saints"). In
Candomblé - Misplaced Pages Continue
4242-453: Is usually forbidden, although does happen. Being initiated into a terreito connects an individual to the lineage of that house; this lineage is linked to the axé of the terreiro . The founders of a terreiro are called essas and their names are evoked in the padê . A priestess running a terreiro is a mâe de santo (mother of saints); a priest who does so is a pai de santo (father of saints). Specific terms also indicate which nation
4343-520: The Bantu peoples of Central , Southern , Eastern and Southeast Africa . They form the largest branch of the Southern Bantoid languages . The total number of Bantu languages is estimated at between 440 and 680 distinct languages, depending on the definition of "language" versus "dialect" . Many Bantu languages borrow words from each other, and some are mutually intelligible . Some of
4444-470: The Black Power movement . Candomblé is a practice-oriented religion; ritual correctness is considered more important than belief . Rituals often focus on pragmatic issues regarding prosperity, health, love, and fecundity. Those engaging in Candomblé include various initiates of varying degrees and non-initiates who may attend events and approach initiates seeking help with various problems. Candomblé
4545-914: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . The most widely spoken Bantu language by number of speakers is Swahili , with 16 million native speakers and 80 million L2 speakers (2015). Most native speakers of Swahili live in Tanzania , where it is a national language, while as a second language, it is taught as a mandatory subject in many schools in East Africa, and is a lingua franca of the East African Community . Other major Bantu languages include Lingala with more than 20 million speakers ( Congo , DRC ), followed by Zulu with 13.56 million speakers ( South Africa ), Xhosa at
4646-598: The Orisha , Loa , Vodun , Nkisi and Alusi , among others. In addition to the religious syncretism of these various African traditions, many also incorporate elements of folk Catholicism including folk saints and other forms of folk religion , Native American religion , Spiritism , Spiritualism , Shamanism (sometimes including the use of Entheogens ) and European folklore . Various "doctoring" spiritual traditions also exist such as Obeah and Hoodoo which focus on spiritual health. African religious traditions in
4747-411: The barracão ("big shed") is where public rituals, including divination, take place. Terreiros lacking a barracão may use a yard for public rites. The peji , or shrines to deities, will often be located around the perimeter of the barracão . The floor of the terreiro is deemed sacred, consecrated to the tutelary orixá of the house. The terreiro will often have a cumeeira , a central pole in
4848-454: The caboclos are believed to dwell in a forest land called Aruanda, and are characterised as smoking cigars and favoring beer. The caboclos are particularly important in the Candomblé de Caboclo nation. This tradition has long been denigrated as inferior by other Candomblecistas, especially from the Nagô tradition. Many practitioners reject interaction with caboclos ; this is the case for those who have tried to "re-Africanize" Candomblé since
4949-418: The egun is accompanied by rituals to neutralise their harmful power or pollution. The contra-egun is an armband made of plaited raffia which is sometimes worn to ward off dead spirits. Although thought possible, possession by eguns is considered rare, and is generally discouraged by Candomblé groups, who deem it spiritually polluting, a viewpoint that distinguishes Candomblé from Umbanda. Candomblé teaches
5050-548: The mâe or pai de Santo is the iyakekerê ("little mother") or mãe pequena , and the "little father". Other roles in the terreiro include the iyabase , who prepares food for the orixás , and the alabê (musical director). Initiates, called the filhos (sons) and filhas de santo (daughters of the saints), assist as cooks, cleaners, and gardeners. Women initiates who do not enter trance but assist those who do are called ekedi ; their male counterparts are termed ogan . The ogã are male members, often not initiated, whose role
5151-408: The orixá ; this is regarded as the house of the orixá . This usually consists of various items placed within an enamel, earthenware, or wooden vessel, itself often wrapped in a cloth. The assentamento can be stored in the initiate's home, or inside the terreiro' s bakisse room, which is only opened by the priestess or priest in charge. There, the assentamentos of the initiates may be arranged on
SECTION 50
#17327982831995252-424: The orixás are termed erês . They are deemed the most uncontrollable spirits of all, associated with obscenities and pranks. The child forms of orixás have specific names; the erê of Oxalá is for instance called Ebozingo ("Little Ebô") and Pombinho ("Little Dove"). The material image of an orixá is called an igbá . Each orixá equates with a Roman Catholic saint. For instance, Omolu, an orixa of sickness,
5353-427: The orixás , thus securing their protection. Candomblé teaches that everyone links to a particular orixá , one that influences that individual's personality. This is their dono da cabeça : the owner or master of the person's head. The gender of this tutelary orixá is not necessarily the same as their human's. The identity of a person's orixá can be ascertained through divination, and failing to know one's orixá
5454-462: The otás , these spirit-vessels may contain ferramentos , or metal objects associated with specific orixás , cowrie shells, bracelets called idés , animal body parts, hair from the initiate who keeps it, statues of associated Roman Catholic saints, and a mix of water, honey, and herbal preparations. Objects used in ritual are often sanctified with a herbal infusion called amaci . Ritual objects are regarded as loci and accumulators of axé , although
5555-429: The terreiros where both initiates and non-initiates can attend to celebrate the orixás . Participants are expected to wear white; women wear skirts. Ceremonies often begin long after the advertised starting time. At these, food is offered to specific orixás while the rest is shared among participants, with the latter thereby gaining some of the axé of the orixás . These public rites are both preceded and succeeded by
5656-431: The (Narrow) Bantu languages. Until recently most attempted classifications only considered languages that happen to fall within traditional Narrow Bantu, but there seems to be a continuum with the related languages of South Bantoid. At a broader level, the family is commonly split in two depending on the reflexes of proto-Bantu tone patterns: many Bantuists group together parts of zones A through D (the extent depending on
5757-468: The 1930s and probably arose earlier. Also present in Candomblé are the caboclos , their name probably stemming from the Tupi language term kari'boka ("deriving from the white"). These spirits are typically those of indigenous Americans or of boiadeiros ("cowboys" or "backwoodsmen"), although in rarer cases caboclos are portrayed as being from the sea or from foreign countries. Almost exclusively male,
5858-402: The 20th century, growing emigration from Bahia spread Candomblé both throughout Brazil and abroad, while also influencing the development of another religion, Umbanda , in the 1920s. Since the late 20th century, some practitioners have emphasized a re-Africanization process to remove Roman Catholic influences and create forms of Candomblé closer to traditional West African religion. The religion
5959-542: The Americas can vary. They can have non-prominent African roots or can be almost wholly African in nature, such as religions like Trinidad Orisha . The nature and composition of the African diaspora have undergone significant changes over time: from the forced migration of African captives of the Old and New Worlds to the voluntary emigration of free, skilled Africans in search of political asylum or economic opportunities; from
6060-401: The Americas through the interaction of West African and Roman Catholic traditions, and for this reason is considered a "sister religion" of Cuban Santería and Haitian Vodou . Candomblé's followers are called povo de santo (people of saint), or Candomblecistas . The term Candomblé itself probably derives from a Bantu word for dances, kandombele , which also developed into the term for
6161-632: The Angola tradition they are sometimes termed inkice , and in the Jeje tradition vodun . The males are termed aborôs , the females iabás . Believed to mediate between humanity and Olorun, the orixás have been varyingly conceived as ancestral figures, or embodiments of forces of nature. Their names may differ according to nation; in Nagô they commonly possess Yoruba names, but in the Jeje nation they are instead given Fon names. The orixás are deemed morally ambiguous, each with their own virtues and flaws, and are sometimes in conflict with each other. Each orixá
SECTION 60
#17327982831996262-590: The Guthrie classification which Guthrie overlooked, while removing the Mbam languages (much of zone A), and shifting some languages between groups (much of zones D and E to a new zone J, for example, and part of zone L to K, and part of M to F) in an apparent effort at a semi-genetic, or at least semi-areal, classification. This has been criticized for sowing confusion in one of the few unambiguous ways to distinguish Bantu languages. Nurse & Philippson (2006) evaluate many proposals for low-level groups of Bantu languages, but
6363-566: The Ijexá ( Ijesha ), Egba , Efan ( Ekiti ) and Caboclo. Each derives influence from a different African language group; Ketu uses Yoruba , Jeje adopts Ewe , and the Angola draws from the Bantu language group. Informed by these ethno-linguistic origins, each Candomblé nation has its own lexicon, chants, deities, sacred objects, and traditional knowledge. Although originating among ethnic differences, this has largely eroded over time, with members drawn to
6464-433: The Nagô nation, those from Ewe-Fon languages in Jeje nations, and words from the Bantu languages in the Angola nation. Candomblé places of worship are called terreiros ("houses"), or ilês . Each terreiro is independent and operates autonomously. They range in size from small houses to large compounds, and also vary in terms of their wealth and fame. A terreiro' s importance is generally regarded as being proportional to
6565-648: The Roman Catholicism of the Portuguese colonialists who then controlled the area. It primarily coalesced in the Bahia region during the 19th century. Following Brazil's independence from Portugal, the constitution of 1891 enshrined freedom of religion in the country, although Candomblé remained marginalized by the Roman Catholic establishment, which typically associated it with criminality. In
6666-514: The adjective prefix ki- (representing the diminutive form of the word) and the verb subject prefix a- . Then comes perfect tense -me- and an object marker -ki- agreeing with implicit kitabu 'book' (from Arabic kitab ). Pluralizing to 'children' gives Vitoto vidogo vimekisoma ( Vana vadoko varikuverenga in Shona), and pluralizing to 'books' ( vitabu ) gives vitoto vidogo vimevisoma . Bantu words are typically made up of open syllables of
6767-465: The author) as Northwest Bantu or Forest Bantu , and the remainder as Central Bantu or Savanna Bantu . The two groups have been described as having mirror-image tone systems: where Northwest Bantu has a high tone in a cognate, Central Bantu languages generally have a low tone, and vice versa. Northwest Bantu is more divergent internally than Central Bantu, and perhaps less conservative due to contact with non-Bantu Niger–Congo languages; Central Bantu
6868-557: The beginning of a syllable can be readily observed in such languages as Shona, and the Makua languages . With few exceptions, such as Kiswahili and Rutooro , Bantu languages are tonal and have two to four register tones. Reduplication is a common morphological phenomenon in Bantu languages and is usually used to indicate frequency or intensity of the action signalled by the (unreduplicated) verb stem. Well-known words and names that have reduplication include: Repetition emphasizes
6969-425: The city's gay social network—and a pervasive stereotype associates Candomblé with gay men. Homosexuals have described the religion as a more welcoming environment than Christianity, and have cited stories of relationships between male orixás , such as Oxôssi and Ossain, as affirming same-sex attraction. Some practitioners have involved themselves in political causes including environmentalism , indigenous rights , and
7070-483: The concept of "language". In addition, delegates at the African Languages Association of Southern Africa conference in 1984 reported that, in some places, the term Kintu has a derogatory significance. This is because kintu refers to "things" and is used as a dehumanizing term for people who have lost their dignity. In addition, Kintu is a figure in some mythologies. In the 1990s,
7171-428: The deities, a space to perform ceremonies, and accommodation for the priests or priestesses. The bakisse is the "room of the saints", a storeroom containing both ritual paraphernalia and the assentamentos , or seated objects, of the orixás , with most terreiros offering veneration to between twelve and twenty of these spirits. Another room, the roncó ("retreat room") or camarinha , is used during initiations, while
7272-422: The end of the seven years, they "receive the decá " from their initiator, being given a tray of ritual objects; this enables them to go and form their own temple. If another such terreiro splinters off, it is believed that the axé of the mother- terreiro transfers to the new one. An altar to the orixás is called a peji . It contains an assemblage of objects termed the assentamento ("seat") or assento of
7373-498: The entire population. Some other sources estimate the Bantu Expansion started closer to 3000 BC. The technical term Bantu, meaning "human beings" or simply "people", was first used by Wilhelm Bleek (1827–1875), as the concept is reflected in many of the languages of this group. A common characteristic of Bantu languages is that they use words such as muntu or mutu for "human being" or in simplistic terms "person", and
7474-640: The existence of a force called ashe or axé , a central concept in Yoruba-derived traditions. The scholar Sheila Walker described axé as "the spiritual force of the universe", and the anthropologist Joana Bahia called it "sacred force." Jim Wafer termed it "vital force", while Voeks favored "vital energy". Scholar of religion Paul Johnson characterised it as "a creative spiritual force with real material effects." Practitioners believe axé can move, but can also concentrate in specific objects, such as leaves, roots, and specific body parts. Blood in particular
7575-473: The forest, thrown into a body of water, or placed at a crossroads; this is referred to as "suspending a sacrifice". Outside Brazil, practitioners have faced challenges in performing animal sacrifice; in Germany, for instance, it is banned by law. African diaspora religions Afro-American religions involve ancestor veneration and include a creator deity along with a pantheon of divine spirits such as
7676-522: The heads of the terreiros ; most terreiros in Bahia are led by women. Accordingly, it has been called a female-dominated religion, with scholarly debates taking place over whether it can be labelled matriarchal. There is evidence that Candomblé is more accepting of sexual and gender non-conformity than mainstream Brazilian society. Many gay men are followers—in Rio de Janeiro many terreiros are integrated into
7777-620: The languages are spoken by a very small number of people, for example the Kabwa language was estimated in 2007 to be spoken by only 8500 people but was assessed to be a distinct language. The total number of Bantu speakers is estimated to be around 350 million in 2015 (roughly 30% of the population of Africa or 5% of the world population ). Bantu languages are largely spoken southeast of Cameroon , and throughout Central , Southern , Eastern , and Southeast Africa . About one-sixth of Bantu speakers , and one-third of Bantu languages, are found in
7878-426: The largely mutually intelligible Kinyarwanda and Kirundi , which together have 20 million speakers. The similarity among dispersed Bantu languages had been observed as early as the 17th century. The term Bantu as a name for the group was not coined but "noticed" or "identified" (as Bâ-ntu ) by Wilhelm Bleek as the first European in 1857 or 1858, and popularized in his Comparative Grammar of 1862. He noticed
7979-445: The larger ethnolinguistic phylum named by 19th-century European linguists. Bleek's identification was inspired by the anthropological observation of groups frequently self-identifying as "people" or "the true people" (as is the case, for example, with the term Khoikhoi , but this is a kare "praise address" and not an ethnic name). The term narrow Bantu , excluding those languages classified as Bantoid by Malcolm Guthrie (1948),
8080-506: The late 20th century and who tend reject the caboclos as being of non-African derivation. As a result, some Candomblecistas have venerated orixás in the terreiro but only engaged with lesser spirits like the caboclos in the home. Where an individual has come to Candomblé via another Brazilian tradition like Umbanda, they are sometimes deemed to have brought caboclos or exus with them. In these instances, attempts are sometimes made to "Africanize" these spirits, ritually "seating" them in
8181-441: The lives of Candomblecistas. Rather than stressing a dichotomy between good and evil, emphasis is placed on achieving equilibrium between competing forces. Problems that arise in a person's life are often interpreted as resulting from a disharmony in an individual's relationship with their tutelary orixá ; harmony is ensured by following the orixá' s euó (taboos) regarding issues like food, drink, and colors. Male/female polarity
8282-493: The noun. Plurality is indicated by a change of class, with a resulting change of prefix. All Bantu languages are agglutinative . The verb has a number of prefixes, though in the western languages these are often treated as independent words. In Swahili , for example, Kitoto kidogo kimekisoma (for comparison, Kamwana kadoko karikuverenga in Shona language ) means 'The small child has read it [a book]'. kitoto 'child' governs
8383-434: The number of initiates and clients that it has; the greater the number of initiates, the greater its own axé . Enmity often exists between terreiros , especially as they compete for members, with defection of individuals from one to another being common. A terreiro may be concealed, so as not to attract unwanted attention. The interior consists of a series of rooms, some off-limits to non-initiates. They contain an altar to
8484-425: The ocean. Other accounts present this cosmogony differently, for instance by claiming that Oxalá fathered all other orixás alone, having created the world from a mingau pudding. An alternative claim among practitioners is that Nanã is the grandmother of Oxalá and the mother of Iemanjá, the latter becoming both mother and wife to Oxalá. Xangô is the orixá associated with thunder and lightning; one of his wives
8585-414: The older geographic classification by Guthrie relevant for its ongoing classification based on more recent linguistic studies, and divides Bantu into four main branches: Bantu A-B10-B20-B30 , Central-Western Bantu , East Bantu and Mbam-Bube-Jarawan . Guthrie reconstructed both the phonemic inventory and the vocabulary of Proto-Bantu. The most prominent grammatical characteristic of Bantu languages
8686-416: The participants of the rite. Candomblé entails animal sacrifice, which is called matanças . The individual performing the sacrifice is known as an axogun (or axogum ) or sometimes as a faca (knife). Species typically used are chickens, guinea fowl, white doves, and goats. The animal will often have its neck cut with a knife, or in the case of birds, its head severed. After the animal is killed, its blood
8787-407: The plural prefix for human nouns starting with mu- (class 1) in most languages is ba- (class 2), thus giving bantu for "people". Bleek, and later Carl Meinhof , pursued extensive studies comparing the grammatical structures of Bantu languages. The most widely used classification is an alphanumeric coding system developed by Malcolm Guthrie in his 1948 classification of the Bantu languages. It
8888-444: The power to aid their worshippers. When a ceremony starts, practitioners typically provide a padé , or propitiatory offering, to the orixá Exu. As well as being offered in the terreiro , food is often placed at an appropriate landscape location; offerings to Oxum are for instance often deposited by a freshwater stream. Specific foodstuffs are associated with each orixá ; a mix of okra with rice or manioc meal, known as amalá ,
8989-432: The relationship between diaspora and nation and the dualities or multiplicities of diasporic identity or subjectivity; they are inclined to be condemnatory or celebratory of transnational mobility and hybridity. In many cases, the term diaspora is used in a fuzzy, ahistorical and uncritical manner in which all manner of movements and migrations between countries and even within countries are included and no adequate attention
9090-496: The repeated word in the context that it is used. For instance, "Mwenda pole hajikwai," means "He who goes slowly doesn't trip," while, "Pole pole ndio mwendo," means "A slow but steady pace wins the race." The latter repeats "pole" to emphasize the consistency of slowness of the pace. As another example, "Haraka haraka" would mean "hurrying just for the sake of hurrying" (reckless hurry), as in "Njoo! Haraka haraka" [come here! Hurry, hurry]. In contrast, there are some words in some of
9191-464: The result is not a complete portrayal of the family. Glottolog has incorporated many of these into their classification. The languages that share Dahl's law may also form a valid group, Northeast Bantu . The infobox at right lists these together with various low-level groups that are fairly uncontroversial, though they continue to be revised. The development of a rigorous genealogical classification of many branches of Niger–Congo, not just Bantu,
9292-478: The spirits of the dead, the egun . Healing rituals and the preparation of amulets and herbal remedies also play a prominent role. Candomblé developed among Afro-Brazilian communities amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It arose through the blending of the traditional religions brought to Brazil by enslaved West and Central Africans, the majority of them Yoruba , Fon , and Bantu , with
9393-444: The structure believed to link humanity's world with that of the orixás . This stands above the entoto ("foundation") of the terreiro , a space periodically "fed" with offerings. An outdoor enclosure may have a tree dedicated to Tempo, shrines to forest orixás like Oxossi and Ogun, and a balé , a place set aside for the souls of the dead. Plants used in rituals may also be grown in this outdoor area. Public ceremonies take place at
9494-459: The supply of this force needs replenishing at various intervals. For this reason, they are given blood, to feed them with new axé . In Brazil, various stores specialise in paraphernalia required in Candomblé. Offerings to spirits are known as ebós , and can consist of food, drink, fowl, and money; when animal sacrifice is not involved, a food offering is termed a comida seca . These offerings are believed to generate axé which then gives an orixá
9595-410: The term Kintu was still occasionally used by South African linguists. But in contemporary decolonial South African linguistics, the term Ntu languages is used. Within the fierce debate among linguists about the word "Bantu", Seidensticker (2024) indicates that there has been a "profound conceptual trend in which a "purely technical [term] without any non-linguistic connotations was transformed into
9696-546: The term to represent the word for "people" in loosely reconstructed Proto-Bantu , from the plural noun class prefix *ba- categorizing "people", and the root *ntʊ̀- "some (entity), any" (e.g. Xhosa umntu "person", abantu "people"; Zulu umuntu "person", abantu "people"). There is no native term for the people who speak Bantu languages because they are not an ethnic group . People speaking Bantu languages refer to their languages by ethnic endonyms , which did not have an indigenous concept prior to European contact for
9797-453: The type CV (consonant-vowel) with most languages having syllables exclusively of this type. The Bushong language recorded by Vansina , however, has final consonants, while slurring of the final syllable (though written) is reported as common among the Tonga of Malawi. The morphological shape of Bantu words is typically CV, VCV, CVCV, VCVCV, etc.; that is, any combination of CV (with possibly
9898-406: The word "school", borrowed from English, and then transformed to fit the sound patterns of this language, is sukulu . That is, sk- has been broken up by inserting an epenthetic -u- ; -u has also been added at the end of the word. Another example is buledi for "bread". Similar effects are seen in loanwords for other non-African CV languages like Japanese . However, a clustering of sounds at
9999-557: Was introduced in the 1960s. The prefix ba- specifically refers to people. Endonymically, the term for cultural objects, including language, is formed with the ki- noun class (Nguni ísi- ), as in KiSwahili (Swahili language and culture), IsiZulu (Zulu language and culture) and KiGanda (Ganda religion and culture). In the 1980s, South African linguists suggested referring to these languages as KiNtu. The word kintu exists in some places, but it means "thing", with no relation to
10100-777: Was largely "a matter of individual opinion". Omolocô was founded in Rio de Janeiro as an intermediate religion between Candomblé and Umbanda, with traditions merging these two systems sometimes labelled "Umbandomblé" by outsiders. There are also other Afro-Brazilian religions rooted largely in specific regions, including Babassuê in Pará , Batuque in Rio Grande do Sul , and Tambor de Mina in Maranhão and Pará. Candomblé divides into traditions known as nações (nations). The three most prominent are Nagô or Ketu (Queto) , Jeje (Gege) or Mina-Jeje , and Angola or Congo-Angola ; others include
10201-416: Was the priesthood and more formally educated practitioners who preferred to distinguish the orixás from the saints, whereas less formally educated adherents tended not to. In Candomblé, relationships are thought rooted in reciprocal obligations, and Candomblecistas see the relationship between the orixás and humanity as being one of interdependence. Practitioners seek to build harmonious relationships with
#198801