New age: Details about 'Umbanda'
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Originating in Brazil in the early 20th century, Umbanda is a religion that blends Catholicism, Kardecist Spiritualism and Afro-Brazilian religions. It started among the lower-class Afro-Brazilian population of Rio de Janeiro but has now spread across Brazil and to Uruguay and Argentina. The term "Umbanda" derives from Kimbundu, an Angolan language, and means "religious practitioners". Umbanda is a monotheistic, syncretic religion based on the worship of Angolan spirits, brought to Brazil by the African slaves during the colonial period, and on elements drawn from Brazilian popular culture. Additionally, Orixás, from the Yoruba pantheon, are given token rule over the various legions of spirits and are associated with a Catholic saint under whose guidance the spirits work. The main class of spirits include Pretos Velhos (old black slaves), Exus (devils but named after the Yoruban deity with whom they bear little resemblance), Baianas (Women from Bahia), Boiadeiros (Brazilian Cowboys), Sereias (Mermaids), Caboclos (Brazilian Indians) and others. Umbanda is an urban phenomenon grounded in Central African influences but borrowing heavily from European influences and is integrated into urban environs. Many ritual sites (called tendas or terreiros) look like ordinary houses when seen from the street, and the poorer ones often indeed often do double as dwellings. Larger, more middle class Umbanda houses often are laid out in a fashion similar to a church. Atabaques (long conical drums), (percussion and chanting) play a central role in some Umbanda congregations but are almost non-existent in others. The head of the terreiro is called "pai-de-santo" ("saint father") or "mãe-de-santo" ("saint mother") and the possession priests who are his or her intiates are usually called "filhos-de-santo" ("saint children", masculine plural form). Worshipping involves sacrifices to the deities (such as hens, cheap wine, farofa, cachaça, popcorn, cigarettes, hard cider and other types of foodstuffs or beverages, depending on the "saint") and has initiation rites that range from simple to complex. "Pais de santo" and "Mães de santo" also play divination using the "jogo de búzios" (the reading of the arrangement of small sea shells), give advice to those who seek it and produce "strong prayers" (Rezas fortes) for those who need them to evade troubles with the police, lack of money, sexual impotence, and other challenges people may face in their lives. Umbanda grew rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century. Brazil went from having around 50,000 terreiros in the 1960s to 300,00 by the early 1980s. At that time there were also 300 terreiros in Uruguay and 200 in Argentina. Until the second half of the 20th century, all Afro-Brazilian religions were considered criminal activity by the Brazilian government and periodically repressed. More recently they have become part of popular culture as many novelists and songwriters have written or sung about them. Several of Jorge Amado's works, for instance, are concerned with the trials and tribulations of the Afro-Brazilians. From the 1960s, many songs about Umbanda and the other Afro-Brazilian religions became popular. Among the famous Brazilian composers who treated the subject, Tom Jobim, Toquinho, Vinícius de Moraes, Geraldo Vandré and Clara Nunes are the most widely known. In the 1970s, poet Vinícius de Moraes married his last wife, Gesse, in an Umbandist ceremony witnessed by many prominent figures of Brazilian culture and politics. Umbanda is juxtaposed with Quimbanda which now appears to be claiming its identity as a separate, supposedly more African religion and distinct from both Macumba and Candomblé. In recent times, some evangelical Christian groups, which have gained many adherents in Latin America in the last decade, have begun attempting to persecute practitioners of Umbanda and other African-derived religions. Some persecutions have involved violence. Practitioners of these religions have taken cases to national courts and achieved a measure of success. Famous Umbandists
Websites
Umbanda Umbanda Umbando Umbanda Umbanda Умбанда
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