Candomble in Bahia

Land of the Orishas

by Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor

SALVADOR DA BAHIA, Brazil—Come into the heart of this city, the capital of black Bahia, and there is Dique do Tororo, a picturesque, landscaped lake made awesome by a pantheon of Gods.

A dozen colorful sculptures—each 22 feet tall, two tons in weight and representing a powerful orisha of Brazil's African derived religion Candomble—are arranged on the lake's perimeter and grouped in a circle out on the water.

Tororo packs the emotional punch of the Lincoln Memorial housing instead a seated Malcolm X or Mount Rushmore picturing a Black Jesus. The male and female orishas, wearing their characteristic colors and carrying often lethal weapons of choice, are bold symbols of African power—this in a country where the Black population strives mightily to overcome a legacy of racial repression and where, not long ago, Candomble and the African martial art Capoeira were illegal.

The orishas, like the fiery Shango waving his axe or fearless Ochossi gripping his bow and arrow, provide bold silhouettes in the sun. At night, when lit from below, the fiberglass resin and iron forms appear to dance on the water in a circle, just as their worshippers here dance at ceremonies here in their honor. As an introduction to the city, Tororo gives the new visitor ample proof of the centrality of Candomble in the life Bahia.

Bahia, the state with the largest percentage of Blacks, is the capital of this religion, which closely follows its African roots and traditions among the Yoruba people of Nigeria and the Bantu people of Angola and the Congo. Yoruban traditions, including the most commonly used names of the orishas, predominate.

According to candomble, each person is attended and protected by and orisha from birth. This orisha is identified by a pai or mae de santo through a reading of tossed cowrie shells. One morning, I am one of several in our large group of travelers who receives a reading to let us know both our protecting orishas and what fate has in store. The spiritual medium looks like my Aunt Anna May with her red lipstick and dangling earrings. She throws shells and tells me that the fiery and passionate Iansa is my primary orisha. The hunter Ochossi protects my back. She warns me about my real estate holdings, some man named Edward and, when I ask, tells me not to go back to my boyfriend. Later, some who did not get a reading poke fun at me, equating my experience with calling Dionne Warwick's "The Psychic Network.'' But I am drawn to the idea of being tied to an African spirituality. I am intrigued by the qualities and stories of the orishas. Iansa is powerful, the first wife of Shango and mother of the Ibeji twins.

According to oral histories passed down through generations of believers, three priestesses of Candomble were brought to Brazil as slaves in 1830 and together founded the first Candomble terreiro or place of worship in Bahia. From that compound was born the hundreds of other terreiros in the state. In order to avoid persecution, many followers of Candomble masked practice of their religion under the guise of Catholicism, secretly substituting worship of the orishas for worship of Catholic saints.

There are no definitive numbers on how many people in Brazil follow Candomble. The government estimates, conservatively, that there are more than 300,000 centers of worship for Brazil's Afro-Brazilian religions, which include Candomble. Those participating in these faiths are thought to make-up at least one-third of Brazil's 160 million inhabitants. Many practice both Catholicism and Candomble.

Candomble is a religion filled with many secrets and rituals known only to initiates but it also a vital part of cultural expression available for everyone, including visitors, to witness. At the Sisterhood of the Good Death, the oldest organization of African women in the New World located southwest of Salvador in Cachoeira, members of the sisterhood talk about their organization. Wearing traditional full white skirts and headwraps, the elder sisters offer Yoruban greetings passed down from slaves and dance the samba de roa-the first samba created by slaves that later became the national dance. Initiates, some of which are on hand, follow a particular orisha and must be at least 40 years old to join. In the foyer of their large yellow and white convent, local artists sell paintings depicting the various gods.

In Salvador's Pelhourinho district, the area of the city where slaves were whipped and tortured that is now a trendy area filled with pastel-colored shops, cafes and dance clubs, sculpted and painted images of the orishas are sold. The highlight of the long-running show by the Ballet Folklorico de Bahia is a series of dances by the popular orishas Xango, Oxum and Iansa in vibrant costumes. A solo act depicting Xango features a dancer who spins with a bowls with flames and eats fire.

Candomble culture is at points so intertwined with Bahian culture that it is credited with preserving many traditions, including cuisine. At Tunuri Jancara, a candomble terreiro in Salvador that follows traditions of Bantu culture, traditional Bahian foods are prepared. The head of the terreiro, Valdina Oliveira Pinto, lectured about and served Bahian delicacies: fish moceca, rich with coconut and palm oils; ground okra; black-eyed pea salad; acaraje and abara-steamed and fried black-eyed peas; free-range chicken and farofa, a manioc flour mixed with palm oil that is used as a garnish.

The black-eyed pea dishes have traditionally been made by grounding the peas by hand. Now a grinder is used, "which is still better than using a food processor,'' she says. "The traditional ways of preparing food have been kept in communities, not in restaurants,'' she adds. "When you receive food prepared by hand, you receive the energy of the person who prepared it. And that's not the case in a restaurant where the food goes from the freezer to the microwave to your mouth.''

Pinto explains that though moceca is identified with black Bahia, the dish was actually first prepared by the native people. Africans added palm and coconut oils as well as other condiments. Like our American "soul food,'' blacks here made use of foodstuffs that weren't being used by whites to create a cuisine. She adds that the same way that an African religion was recreated here—first through the guise of the Catholic church—foods that are similar to African dishes were recreated the same way, using materials available in the New World. Some dishes are traditionally offered to certain orishas—for example, the okra to Xango and black-eyed peas to Oxum.

On another day, we are walking around Opo Afonja, a condomble compound with the date 1910 posted on one of the houses. We've been told to wear white for the occasion if we can so I put on a white sun dress. Like Tunuri Jancara, the compound visited yesterday, this compound contains small cottages, maintained immaculate and empty for many deities-like Ogun and Oxum.

Before the end of the trip, we return to Opo Afonja, again wearing white, for the Xango festival. The main house for ceremonies is packed. Men and women are separated on opposite sides of the seating area. The women from our group stand or squeeze into the upper rafters on the women's side. The members of the terreiro protected by Xango dance in a circular motion around the center of the floor in wide white skirts, some accented with bright fabric. Many stop and give honor to the spiritual leader of the compound, Mae Estella, by kneeling before her or kissing her hand. When the dance reaches a crescendo, some of the members get possessed by the spirit and go into a trance. These people eat fire-Xango is the god of fire. They pass a bowl of fire from head to head.

It reminds me of my childhood growing up in the Church of God in Christ. Those folks got the holy ghost. These people tonight in Bahia are possessed by Xango. But it looks like the same spirit, the same African spirit, with a different name in a different place on the globe.

-- April 9, 2001

© Copyright 2001-05 Seeing Black, Inc. All Rights Reserved.