Quimbanda

Quimbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced primarily in the urban city centers of Brazil. Quimbanda practices are typically associated with magic, rituals involving animal sacrifice and marginal locations, orishas, exus, and pomba gira spirits. Quimbanda was originally contained under the religious tradition of Macumba. In the mid-20th century, Macumba split into two religions: Quimbanda and Umbanda. Umbanda represented the more acceptable traits of Macumba, while Quimbanda retained the distinctively African traits, which detractors hailed as black magic. Quimbanda has continued to distinguish itself as a religion, while resisting Catholic and French Spiritist influences that have penetrated Umbanda and other Afro-Brazilian religions.

Deities

Exu and exus

The primary deity associated with Quimbanda is the orisha Exu, the Yoruba god of chaos and trickery. Exu is also known as the Lord of the seven crossroads. Exu is arguably the most powerful of all the deities in Quimbanda, but is also known as the most aggressive and immoral of the deities. As Quimbanda has evolved as a religion, it has created a category of spirits collectively called exus, name of which was borrowed from the deity Exu. Exus refers to the phalanx of spirits occupying the lowest levels of the spirit hierarchy. Religious professor Kelly E. Hayes outlines the purposes of exu spirits:

“[Quimbanda] is associated particularly with the cultivation of a set of boisterous spirit entities called exus, referred to by their devotees as povo da rua, people of the streets. In image, story, and song, exu spirits are linked with urban street life and its illicit desires—vice, lust, crime, and sensual indulgence.”^[1]

Exu spirits are characterized as having been criminals, hustlers and vagrants in former incarnations. However, exus, commonly referred to as ‘spirits of the left’, are not purely evil. Instead, they are more human-like in their qualities and share in human weaknesses. Exu spirits primarily deal with human and material matters as opposed to the ‘spirits of the right’ used in Umbanda, who deal with primarily spiritual matters. Exus are typically called for rituals to arrange rendezvous, force justice, or destroy enemies.^[2] Religion specialist Diana Brown of Bard college states, ”Exus seem to assert the power and autonomy of the individual to have and pursue his/her own self-interests, as against the interests and moral codes established by the state, civil society, and the family”.^[3] Exus are the most commonly used of the deities in Quimbanda and vary in their power and ability, which is often measured by their viciousness and immorality.

A mask representing Exu

Pomba Giras

Another set of deities associated with Quimbanda are not directly derived from the Yoruba religious tradition. Pomba giras, the female counterparts of exus are frequently described as the spirits of prostitutes.^[4] Prominent pomba giras such as Pomba-Gira Maria Mulambo, also known as ‘Maria of the trash’, are used for specific rituals often relating to their names. Mulambo refers to someone who is wearing ragged clothing or someone who is very unlucky. Therefore, Pomba-Gira Maria Mulambo is summoned to overturn or destroy someone and make them a mulambo.^[5]

Ogum

Ogum is the orisha of warfare and metal. Ogum is also known as the Lord at the center of the crossroads. Rituals involving Ogum are typically less aggressive and more justice-bound than that of Exu. Professor David J. Hess speculates that Ogum acts as an intermediate figure between the violent rituals of Exu in Quimbanda and the non-aggressive rituals of Umbanda, revealing the deep connection between Quimbanda and Umbanda.^[6]

Practices

Rituals

A classic Quimbanda ritual, called a trabalho, consists of several parts: a motive, dedication to a spirit, a marginal location, the metal or clay (earthy) material, an alcoholic drink, scent, and food (usually a peppered flour-palm oil mixture, sometimes called miamiami).^[7] An example of a trabalho is as follows:

Trabalho 1: " A work of great force, under the protection of [Exu] Tranca Ruas das Almas (Block-Streets-of-the-Souls), to eliminate an enemy. " 1) Go to a crossroads of Exu on a Monday or Friday near midnight, if possible in the company of a member of the opposite sex; 2) greet Ogum with a bottle of light beer, a white or red candle, and a lighted cigar; 3) greet Exu Sir Block-Streets-of-the-Souls by opening seven bottles of rum (cachaga) in the form of a circle, lighting seven red and black candles, and offering seven cigars; 4) put inside a vase (alguidar) and mix the following: manioc flour (farinha da mesa), palm oil (azeitede-dendd), and peppers; 5) put on the ground in the middle of the circle the name of the person whom one wishes to hurt, and, using a knife, stab this with violence, asking Exu to attend to one's request."^[8]

Depending on the purpose of the ritual, aspects of the trabalho will change. For instance, if one desires to seek justice from Exu they will use white candles, rum and a written request. Therefore, certain colors denote different motives in a ritual: white symbolizing an honest and justice-bound motive and red and black representing an aggressive and illicit motive. Other rituals substitute the harsh or spicy smell of cigars for the sweet smell of carnations, thus symbolizing the transformation between harming and helping rituals. Likewise, rituals involving female spirits (Pomba Giras) are less aggressive in their performance. A trabalho to obtain a woman is as follows:

Trabalho 7: "to obtain a woman. " 1) On a Monday or Friday night, go to a female crossroads (T-shaped rather than plus-shaped) and greet Pomba Gira by pouring a little rum, " or better yet, champagne or anisette (aniz)"; 2) place two pieces of cloth (pano) on the ground, one red and the other black, and on top of this put five or seven red roses in the shape of a horseshoe; 3) fill a cup of good quality with champagne or aniz; 4) put the name of the desired person in the cup or in the middle of the horseshoe; 5) sing a ponto (song) and thank Pomba Gira."^[9]

Particular elements of an Exu trabalho remain unchanged in the pomba gira trabalho and therefore mark pomba giras as the female counterparts of Exu: the colors, the location (male to female variation), the time of day, the day of the week, the scent (smoky), and the container for the food and the flour/palm oil mixture. In a pomba gira trabalho, another set of elements indicates a gentler coding: from rum to champagne or anisette, from the absence of flowers to red roses, from pepper in the flour/palm oil mixture to honey, and from a fierce initiatory act to a song, which seems to suit the purpose of the ritual: to obtain a woman.^[10] (See Table One for the transition between Exu and pomba giras rituals)

Table One: Differences Between Exu and Pomba Gira Rituals

Code	Exu Trabalho	Pomba Gira Trabalho
Spirit	Exu	Pomba Gira
Drink	Rum	Champagne or Anisette
Colors	Red and Black	Red and Black
Location	Male Crossroads	Female Crossraods or trashy place
Time	Midnight	Midnight
Day	Monday or Friday	Monday or Friday
Scent	Cigars	Cigarillos or cigarettes, Red roses
Food	Pepper, Flour/palm oil	Honey, Flour/palm oil
Container	Metal or clay vase	Metal or clay vase
Imitative Action	Aggressive	Song

Marginal Locations

‘Marginal locations’ refer to areas containing magical and spiritual significance where rituals are executed. Many Quimbanda rituals are performed at crossroads, as Exu is the Lord of the seven crossroads and Ogum is the Lord of the center of the crossroads. Other marginal locations include the streets at night (since exus are referred to as ‘people of the streets’), cemeteries, beaches, and forests, all during the nighttime.^[11]

Animal Sacrifices

Animal sacrifices have many usages in Quimbanda rituals. In certain rituals, devotees offer sacrificial pigeons, hens, roosters, goats, sheep, and bulls to help an exu spirit progress in power and capability.^[12] Other rituals use animal sacrifices to help enlist the help of a spirit to carry out a deed. In a particular trabalho, one kills a black rooster at a crossroads and puts into a vase the parts of the rooster that correspond to the parts of the body of the person one wishes to harm.^[13] In another trabalho, several black goats and birds are sacrificed; while singing a ponto the genitals of the animals are removed and offered to Exu along with other items such as rum, cigars and food. Next, blood is drawn from the animal sacrifices and is mixed with wine, which is then passed around the room in a communal bowl. Following this, participants write down a list of their enemies, which are stuffed into the mouth of a toad. The mouth of the toad is then sewn together with red and black thread (colors of Exu) and buried in the ground. As the toad slowly decays in the ground, those named in the lists will slowly be destroyed.^[14]

History

From Africa to Brazil

Quimbanda’s roots are distinctly African. The great African slave trade that lasted from 1530-1850 brought a lasting African cultural presence to the Americas. In Brazil, by the mid 19th century the slave population outnumbered the free population. The slave population increased when free men of African descent (libertos) were added to the slave population. The African culture brought by slaves to Brazil slowly mixed with the indigenous Brazilian culture. In the large urban centers such as Rio de Janeiro, where the African-slave population was the most concentrated, the Colonial regime enforced a social control system to suppress the rising population. However, instead of suppressing the African slave population, the Colonial regime’s system had the opposite effect; the system divided the slave population into ‘nations’, which preserved, protected and even institutionalized African religious and secular traditions. The large cities where the slave population was most concentrated preserved Macumba, the forerunner of Quimbanda, and still hold the largest following of Quimbanda.^[15]

Catholic Influence

The Catholic Church has had very little lasting effect on Quimbanda unlike other Afro-Brazilian religions such as Umbanda.^[16] The Catholic Church in Brazil was under the direct control of the Portuguese crown so it relied on the state to provide funds, resulting in a very understaffed clergy in Brazil. Subsequently, the main Catholic influence in Brazil was a lay brotherhood. Therefore, the Catholic Church received only a nominal conversion of the African slaves. Ironically, the Catholic Church adopted the Colonial crown’s system of controlling the slave population, which in turn preserved African traditions.^[17]

From Macumba to Quimbanda and Umbanda

Before Quimbanda became its own separate religion, it was contained inside the religious tradition of Macumba. During the late 19th century and into the mid 20th century, Macumba was a pejorative term for all religions deemed by the white-dominant class as primitive, demonic and superstitious black magic. However, as African culture continued to blend with the native Brazilian culture, Macumba morphed into two religions: Umbanda and Quimbanda. Umbanda represented the ‘whitened’ aspects of Macumba, drawing heavily on spiritual and hierarchical values of French Spiritism and Catholicism. On the other hand, Quimbanda represented the aspects of Macumba that were rejected in the whitening process, becoming ‘the Macumba of Macumbas’.^[18] The split between the black and white magic of Macumba has caused much debate over the unity or disunity of Quimbanda and Umbanda. Some believe that Quimbanda and Umbanda represent aspects or tendencies of a single system.^[19] Others believe that Quimbanda and Umbanda have morphed into their own religions with their own influences and beliefs.^[20] (see Table Two for differences between Quimbanda and Umbanda)

Table Two: Differences Between Quimbanda and Umbanda

Traits	Quimbanda	Umbanda
Deities	Exu, Ogum, exus, pomba giras	Exu, Ogum, Oxalá, Iemanjá, Pomba Gira, Iansá
Rituals	Human/material matters	Spiritual matters
Beliefs	Spirit progression in power and ability	Christian-like Spirit Hierarchy
Influences	Native Brazilian Culture, Yoruba Religion	Catholicism, French Spiritism

The emergence of Quimbanda

Until halfway through the 20th Century, Quimbanda and other Afro-Brazilian religions were not considered to be religions at all. Instead, they were considered to be primitive, superstitious magic passed down intergenerationally from an African-slave past. The black consciousness movement and the women’s movement of the late 1970s created the perfect environment for the emergence of Quimbanda. These movements helped acquire civil liberties during Brazil’s long process of returning to democracy. Historians refer to this process as ‘re-Africanization,’ meaning the “intentional assertion of aesthetics, theologies, and practices considered more African."^[21] The re-Africanization movement caused increased popularity and respect for exus and pomba giras spirits previously viewed as illicit and demonic. Thus, the emergence of Quimbanda showed the Afro-Brazilian culture salvaging their traditional African religion from white-dominant class misinterpretations of superstitious black magic. This re-Africanization movement simultaneously protected Quimbanda from the prevalent ideology of “whitening” that influenced other Umbanda and other eclectic Afro-Brazilian religions.

Contemporary

Quimbanda has had a quickly rising membership since its emergence in the 1970’s, especially in urban areas of Southern Brazil. However, according to Brazil’s 2000 census^[22] less than 1% of the population claimed to belong to Afro-Brazilian religions (including Quimbanda and Umbanda). Although very little of the Brazilian population claims to follow Quimbanda, many people from all social ranks use Quimbanda rituals occasionally.^[23] It is a common practice for businessmen to consult exus before major business dealings. Athletes and gamblers also use exus to assist in winning football games or other sporting events.^[24] Although Quimbanda does not claim a large religious following, it does influence all other areas of Brazilian society regardless of class or race.

References

^ (Hayes, 284)
^ (Jensen, 78)
^ (Brown, 91)
^ (Hess, 141)
^ (Hess, 141)
^ Hess, 141)
^ (Hess, 140)
^ (Hess, 140)
^ (Hess, 141)
^ (Hess, 141-42)
^ (Hess, 142-44)
^ (Gidal, 6)
^ (Hess, 142)
^ (Brown, 90-91)
^ (Brown, 74)
^ (Brown, 75)
^ (Brown, 75)
^ (Hayes, 309)
^ (Hess, 150-51)
^ (Gidal, 3)
^ (Gidal, 5)
^ IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics). Religion in Brazil - 2000 Census. Accessed 2009-12-02.
^ (Brown, 91)
^ (Brown, 91)

Works Cited

Bastide, Roger. The African Religions of Brazil: Toward a Sociology of the Interpenetration of Civilizations. Trans. Helen Sebba. Baltimore, Maryland: John Hopkins UP, 1978.
Brown, Diana DeG. Umbanda Religion and Politics in Urban Brazil. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1986.
Brown, Lyle, William Cooper. Religion in Latin American Life and Literature. Waco, Texas: Baylor UP, 1980.
Brumana, Fernando, Elda Martinez. Spirits from the Margin: Umbanda in Sao Paulo. Stockholm, Sweden: Almqvist and Wiksell Int., 1989.
Gidal, Marc. Pomba gira as Alabê in Quimbanda: Ritual Change, Musical Innovation, and Challenging Social Hierarchies in Southern Brazil. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard UP, 2009.
Hayes, Kelly E. "Black Magic and the Academy: Macumba and Afro-Brazilian “Orthodoxies," History of Religions, 46,4 (2007), 283–315.
Hess, David J. Umbanda and Quimbanda Magic in Brazil: Rethinking Aspects of Bastide's Work. Archives de sciences sociales des religions. 37e, No 79, July-Sept 1992, pg. 135-153. Jstor. BYU Lib., Provo, UT. 23 Nov 2009.<http://www.jstor.org/stable/30128587>.
Langguth, A.J. Macumba: White and Black Magic in Brazil. New York: Harper and Row, 1975.

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