Carnival Candombale & Christianity
Carnival Candombale & Christianity

We are celebrating the Carnival this week. It is a cultural marker of Brazil, the largest Catholic country in the world. Behind the colorful floats and the sensual dancers of Carnival parade, one can easily note that the Carnival is largely an Afro- Brazilian phenomenon. The joy of the Carnival masks a long history of religious alienation of the Afro- Brazilian religion and their Slavery.
One of the remarkable things in Brazil unlike in the United States ( where Blacks have been converted to be very religious Christians themselves), is that the Blacks preserved some of their African traditions despite stiff opposition. Why so? one possible explanation is unlike in the USA, white Christian settlers in Brazil intermarried as they came single to Brazil. Another possibility is the relatively larger number of the Black Population. It is estimated that between 65 million and 120 million Brazilians are of African ancestry. The number 80 million or 48 percent of the total population in official statistics.
As a result, Brazilian Portuguese was richly influenced by the speech of African peoples, and a new Afro-Brazilian vocabulary developed. African religions survive in Brazil today.
Afro-Brazilian religions constitute powerful sources of inner strength, enabling believers to reaffirm their African identity. Candomblé which literally means singing and dancing and its traditions are central to the lives of many Afro-Brazilians. Religious leaders conduct their ceremonies in Yoruba. Candomblé rituals have been incorporated into the fabric of Brazilian national identity from New Year's Eve offerings to the ocean (during Rebellion), Capoeira dance, Samba circles (Rodas) and culinary preferences such as Acarajé fritters.
However, this preservation is a result of a long struggle and is again being threatened by the rise of Pentecostal evangelicals. Today the press carries news of how Afro- Brazilians fear assault and discrimination for following their religion and live under the threat of Christian Violence.
http://theconversation.com/evangelical-gangs-in-rio-de-janeiro-wage-holy-war-on-afro-brazilian-faiths-128679
https://sojo.net/articles/evangelicals-brazil-are-odds-afro-brazilian-faiths-0
Here is a story of how Christianity robbed free religious expression among the slave community in Brazil.
Importance of Cultural Continuity and Native Religions
The creation of collective identity is an important step in pulling up the Socio-economic condition of large groups. The oppressive community always knows this instinctually and prevents any discussion of collective identity preferring to deal with either Universalist humanitarian solutions or deal with the oppressed as individuals. A collective identity is a self-sustaining mechanism that provides psychological resources for oppressed people. Religion and cultural continuity is a major part of such a mechanism. The ability to look upon past heroes of their own stock who overcame adversity is a powerful motivator to overcome present adverse circumstances. The feeling of privileged access to a particular form of the divine who empathizes and shares one's own value systems is a source of great reassurance.
The era of colonialism which lasted 4- 5 centuries and culminated with the great world wars in the 20th Century saw the forced migration of many communities across the globe. The Jews and Indians are examples. The Afro- American community ( and here I mean the entire Americas and not just the United States) was subject to the most brutal of these migrations- migration through being sold into Slavery and being cut off from the family.
Unlike the Jews and Indians ( who went to Fiji, Guayana, South Africa), cultural continuity was denied to the Africans. The effects of this can be seen until today. While the Indian and Jewish Diaspora has succeeded in many dimensions and have integrated well in their host societies, Blacks are often among the poorest, crime-prone and less stable among the families. The level of social alienation of Blacks is higher in the United States but with greater political participation while the reverse is true in Brazil. It is surprising then that in most Government plans, promoting cultural continuity among Blacks with their African religions and myths is never a part of the policy.
The story of Candomble is how the Afro- Brazilians have tried to preserve a semblance of cultural continuity and how they are today fighting a losing battle against Pentecostal Christian evangelists.
Slave Trade in Brazil
During the Atlantic slave trade era, Brazil received more African slaves than any other country. An estimated 4.9 million slaves from Africa were brought to Brazil during the period from 1501 to 1866. 10 times more than all those sent to the United States.
Slave labor was the driving force behind the growth of the sugar economy in Brazil, and sugar was the primary export of the colony from 1600 to 1650. Gold and diamond deposits were discovered in Brazil in 1690, which sparked an increase in the importation of African slaves to power this newly profitable mining. Transportation systems were developed for the mining infrastructure, and the population boomed from immigrants seeking to take part in gold and diamond mining.
Demand for African slaves did not wane after the decline of the mining industry in the second half of the 18th century. Cattle ranching and foodstuff production proliferated after the population growth, both of which relied heavily on slave labor. 1.7 million slaves were imported to Brazil Africa from 1700 to 1800, and the rise of coffee in the 1830s further enticed expansion of the slave trade.
Brazil was the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery. By the time it was abolished after years of campaigning by Emperor Pedro II, in 1888, an estimated four million slaves had been imported from Africa to Brazil, 40% of the total number of slaves brought to the Americas.
The role of Christianity in justifying Slavery and Slave trade has been completely glossed over by India's historians.
The BBC mentions https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/history/slavery_1.shtml
Historical records show that Islam and Christianity played an important role in enslavement in Africa. The Arab-controlled Trans-Saharan slave trade helped to institutionalize slave trading on the continent. And during the 'age of expedition', European Christians witnessed caravans loaded with Africans en-route to the Middle East. Others arriving much later in West Africa observed slavery in African societies, leading them to assume that African enslavement was intrinsic to the continent.
For many of these early European explorers, the Bible was not only regarded as infallible, it was also their primary reference tool and those looking for answers to explain differences in ethnicity, culture, and slavery, found them in Genesis 9: 24-27, which appeared to suggest that it was all a result of 'sin'.
In the Genesis passage, Africans were said to be the descendants of Ham, the son of Noah, who was cursed by his father after looking at his naked form. Moreover, in Genesis 10, the 'Table of Nations' describes the origins of the different 'races' and reveals that one of the descendants of Ham is 'Cush' – Cush and the 'Cushites' were people associated with the Nile region of North Africa.
n time, the connection Europeans made between sin, slavery, skin color and beliefs would condemn Africans. In the Bible, physical or spiritual slavery is often a consequence of sinful actions, while darkness is associated with evil. Moreover, the Africans were subsequently considered 'heathens' bereft of Christianity,
History of Candomblé: Surviving an Old Enemy: Catholicism
Candomblé is an African-Brazilian religion. It was born of a people who were taken from their homes in Africa and transplanted to Brazil during the slave trade. The religion is a mixture of traditional Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs which originated from different regions in Africa, and it has also incorporated some aspects of the Catholic faith over time.
The name itself means 'dance in honor of the gods, and music and dance are important parts of Candomblé ceremonies.
From the earliest days of the slave trade, many Christian slave owners and Church leaders felt it was important to convert the enslaved Africans. This was in order to fulfill their religious obligations but also in the hope of making the enslaved more submissive. Others also argue that enslaved Africans were religiously persecuted in order that they held no connection to a shared past.
Although the Church succeeded in many cases, not all Africans converted. Many outwardly practiced Christianity but secretly prayed to their own god, gods or ancestor spirits. In Brazil, where Catholicism was popular, adherents of Candomblé saw in the worship of saints a similarity with their own religion. Candomblé practitioners often concealed the sacred symbols of their deities inside their corresponding Catholic saints.
In the segregated communities of America, it was easy to create Catholic religious fraternities where black people would meet with each other. These meetings, however, were actually an opportunity for Candomblé worship to happen and for feasts to be held on special religious days. They were also opportunities for the enslaved to gather and plan rebellions against their masters.
Many of the enslaved Africans from Bantu found a shared system of worship with Brazil's indigenous people and through this connection, they re-learned ancestor worship.
Persecution and resurgence
Candomblé was condemned by the Catholic Church, and followers of the faith were persecuted violently right up through government-led public campaigns and police action. The persecution stopped when a law requiring police permission to hold public ceremonies was scrapped in the 1970s.
So for much of its hidden history in Brazil, Candomblé practitioners would tell the government they were Catholics when they weren't. It was a way of protecting themselves from persecution.
The religion has surged in popularity in Brazil since then, with as many as two million people professing to follow the faith. It is particularly practiced in Salvador da Bahia, in the northeast of Brazil. Interestingly, many people from African countries visit Bahia in order to learn more about the faith of their ancestors.
For many followers, it is not just a matter of religious belief but also of reclaiming the cultural and historical identity that slavery stripped them off. There is also some movement to remove Catholic imagery from worship services, in an attempt to return the faith to its more fundamental origins.
Beliefs of Candomble:
https://www.learnreligions.com/candomble-4692500
Many of the beliefs of Candomble have remarkable similarities with native Indian religions and Hinduism. Some of them are:
1.The multiplicity of deities called Orixas
Bahia, the North Eastern State of Brazil has a public monument to the Orixas. See the Vandalism on these statues recently by Evangelicals
https://blackwomenofbrazil.co/orisha-statue-is-a-target-of-vandalism-in-in-salvador-bahia-a-symbol-of-deities-it-is-the-latest-violent-assault-on-african-religious-symbols/
The Orixas are characterized by many associations with colors and holy days, similar to Tantric symbolism.
http://www.batalawashington.com/exu-messenger-of-the-orixas/
There are multiple Orishas each associated with a trade or region.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orisha#Pantheon
2.Belief in Trance: the tradition " Saami Varudhu" in Tamil Hinduism when a deity descends on a priest is a common phenomenon. Drums call the gods, according to worshippers, and music and dance allow the faithful to enter into meditative trances. Sometimes a particular god or goddess (worshippers focus their faith on one member of the pantheon) will enter a person's body. This possession is why many Christians, particularly evangelicals, reject religion as devil worship.
3.The Belief in Axe, similar to Prana or Qui
4.The concept of Karma and Svadharma in a rudimentary form
1. Unlike many Western religions, Candomblé does not have a distinction between good and evil. Rather, practitioners are urged only to fulfill their destiny to the fullest. An individual's destiny may be ethical or unethical, but unethical behavior does have negative consequences.
5.The belief in ancestral continuity and the influence in daily lives: Pithrus in Hindu tradition
1.Individuals determine their destiny when they are possessed by their ancestor spirit or Egum, usually during a special ritual that involved ceremonial dancing.
6.Sacred sites and Temples: A Candomble Terreiro has a very specific sacred geometry. Daily practice at a terreiro, a Candomblé temple, includes the fulfillment of various ritual obligations, offering food and sometimes animal sacrifices to an orisha or orishas, public and private celebrations, consultations with clients, and celebrations.
How the practitioners of Candomble had to hide their faith
The Afro-Brazilian religions began to take an organized form in the nineteenth century, and terriers (centers of worship) were first reported around 1830 in Salvador da Bahia and 1850 in Recife. The religions were syncretized in Brazil into new forms by their followers because of government and Roman Catholic repression that persisted into the 20th century. Devotees secretly worshipped their West African gods during Catholic ceremonies. Blacks who prayed to a statue of the Virgin Mary often were actually thinking of Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea. Saint Jerome could stand in for Xangô, the god of fire, thunder, and justice; and Jesus Christ might signify Oxalá (Obatalá), orixá of the sky and universe. Catholicism with its abundance of saints meshed well with the orixá tradition and allowed them to hide their true beliefs. This reminds me of how Hindus find it difficult to sport a Tika or Tilak in their workplaces and have to lie about their fasting or culinary preferences, to hide they are religious, of how they have to claim all religions are same and allow their traditions and beliefs robbed in front of their own eyes. In a sense, Candomble and Hinduism have suffered the same fate. Because of Hindus' larger number and because they were not slaves per se, they could worship- but they did in trepidation and shame much like the African Slaves.
This legacy of violation of African worship, and subsequent intervention and harassment by the police, was maintained until 1945. Before 1976 in Bahia, the African temples were required to ask for government permission to perform religious ceremonies. Religion is now legalized, but hatred continues even today.
Candomble suffers the same fate of Hinduism, which is declared in India as not a religion. In May 2014 a judge in Rio de Janeiro ruled that Candomblé and Umbanda were not religions. He was forced to retract that decision when it caused an uproar, but the sentence revealed that hostility to Afro-Brazilian religions permeates all levels of society.
A new enemy: Virulent Evangelism and nowhere to hide
The number of Brazilian Protestants has continued to grow in the most recent decade, rising from 26 million (15%) in 2000 to 42 million (22%) in 2010 and it is close to 34 % today. "Protestant" is broadly defined here to include Brazilians who identify with historically mainline and evangelical Protestant denominations as well as those who belong to Pentecostal denominations, such as the Assemblies of God and the Foursquare Church. It also includes members of independent, neo-Pentecostal churches, such as the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God and the God is Love Pentecostal Church, both of which were founded in Brazil. But in keeping with categories in the Brazilian census, it does not include Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses.
Much of the status Candomblé had gained is being lost again since evangelical Christianity swept Brazil. Evangelical groups have attacked Afro-Brazilian shrines, and some of the evangelical churches call Candomblé "devil worship. "Their aim is to make Brazil a Christian country, and their legislative agenda is skewed to limit the cultural and religious traditions of African roots of Brazilians.
The increase in religious hate crimes coincides with the growing political and cultural clout of evangelicals in Brazil. Evangelical lawmakers currently hold 195 of 513 seats in Brazil's lower house of Congress, giving them the power to shape the national debate
Evangelicals have been through block voting capture political power. The current Brazilian President is an evangelical. Even though people of African descent make up more than half of Brazil's population, they account for only 8 percent of the lower house of Congress, while only two out of 81 senators are black. This sounds eerily like the Hindus in Tamil Nadu in many ways.
Edir Macedo, the multi-millionaire bishop of Brazil's Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, wrote in his 1997 book "Orixás, Caboclos and False Gods or Demons" that Afro-Brazilian religions "seek to keep us from God. They are enemies of Him and the human race."
"This struggle with Satan is necessary … to eternal salvation," he added. Edir Macedo can fit very well with Mohan Lazarus.
The book sold 3 million copies before it was banned by federal authorities in 2005. But Macedo still peddles his message to his estimated 5.2 million followers at 13,000 affiliated churches.
For preachers espousing a binary spiritual worldview, "good" Christians must wage holy war against "evil" practitioners of Candomblé and Umbanda.
Though black commentators point out that this theological interpretation is just thinly veiled religious discrimination, some parishioners are heeding the call to "cleanse" the world of Satan's work.
Relevance to India, Hinduism, and Tamil Nadu
In Tamil Nadu, politicians such as Seeman who are strongly allied to the Church mention their intention to revive the native religion of the Tamils, which according to them is completely distinct from Hinduism. Christian preachers such as G.U. Pope and Caldwell have waxed about the need to restore the cultural traditions of Tamil to pristine purity uncontaminated by Sanskrit. They have decried the legacy of caste, which according to them enslaves one set of people to another. However, what this religion did to the African slave descendants in Brazil and their traditions exposes the standards of Christianity and warns Hindus of the Crocodile tears to shed by the Dravidian and Tamil Nationalist forces.
The fate of Hinduism is very much the fate of Candomble in Brazil- as a religion, it will lose force and will survive as a cultural curiosity if Tamils and Hindus do not get organized politically.