In the City of Women: The Secret of Candomble

In the City of Women: The Secret of

Candomblé

Lucas De Paula Carneiro

Professor Ric Alviso

April 4, 2014

Prologue

My story of social identity is a cliché of immigrant children who are brought by their parents

to America at a young age. The main similarities I’ve observed begin with a sense of

dissociation from the new host country, followed by pressures to conform to a new culture,

language, and societal values rather quickly. After successful assimilation, there is a longing

for roots and culture that was suppressed, then a return to roots effort that inadvertently

reveals that you are now a new unique mixture of the original and adopted cultures of which

you belong. The goal is now shifted to cultivating a balance and fluidity between all the

experiences that have shaped your awareness to allow you to navigate freely between your

multiple worlds. When I was a young teen teaching myself guitar I read an interview in Rolling

Stone magazine of one of my favorite artists, Jack White, and he talked about how listening to

the Blues spoke to him in a way that made him realize who he was. He was from Detroit where

the Blues has a home and that’s where he made his connection. After I went back to Brazil

after a seven year hiatus during my teens, I felt that that connection happened for me as well. I

had renewed experiences with family, and the rhythms and culture of the land. This reflected

in the way I was influenced musically. I started studying much more Brazilian repertoire and

listening to more of the music, and reading literature in Portuguese. In search of the roots of

Samba and Afro-Brazilian music, I found a direct line to Candomblé. And in all the knowledge

that exists within Candomblé, the women are the keepers of the secret.

Introduction

Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion that mixes African religion from different

tribes brought to Brazil. By ways of the slave trade and, under Catholic influence, learned to

mix and disguise itself to avoid discrimination and persecution by the mainstream Brazilian In the City of Women: The Secret of Candomblé | Lucas De Paula Carneiro

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culture. The most remarkable figures in the Candomblé tradition are their women. It is

through them that the religion has endured hundreds of years of persecution and

discrimination. As Mae Marcia Doxum said, “Candomblé is a religion of resistance, if it

weren’t we wouldn’t be here today.” (2012) The women of Candomblé have taken upon

themselves the task of passing the knowledge of rituals, dances, rhythms, cuisine and way of

life as dictated by the religion of the Orixas. Until recent decades all this knowledge has been

passed down orally through strict hierarchy where the Iyalorixa, the mother priestess, resides

in the highest office. The Candomblé religion was originally strictly for women

(Onykaya,2012). They are solely responsible for the existence of Candomblé. In the horrors of

the slave trade, and perhaps its most cruel practice, children were separated and sold from

their mothers. Sons grew up without mothers and daughters learned from new mothers. The

knowledge survived because the women of Candomblé learned to disguise the worship of their

own deities, the Orixas, in the images of the many saints and the rituals of the Catholic Church.

Although Candomblé combines African and catholic ideas, in this paper I will show that

it honors and gives more power to women than western religions.

Background

Candomblé is really an incredible story of the meaning and persistence of tradition.

The people that are responsible for its existence were slaves. It shares similarities with other

new-world afro religions that have survived despite systematic discrimination and

persecution.

“Candomblé at a glance:

Candomblé is a religion based on African beliefs which is particularly popular in Brazil.

It is also practiced in other countries, and has as many as two million followers. The

In the City of Women: The Secret of Candomblé | Lucas De Paula Carneiro

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religion is a mixture of traditional Yoruba, Fon and Bantu beliefs which originated from

different regions in Africa. It has also incorporated some aspects of the Catholic faith

over time. A religion which combines elements of many religions is called a syncretic

religion. Enslaved Africans brought their beliefs with them when they were shipped to

Brazil during the slave trade. The name Candomblé means 'dance in honor of the gods'.

Practitioners of Candomblé believe in one all-powerful God called Oludumaré who is

served by lesser deities. These deities are called orixas. (They can also be called voduns

and inkices.) Candomblé practitioners believe that every person has their own individual

orixa which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. Music and dance are

important parts of Candomblé ceremonies. Specially choreographed dances are

performed by worshippers to enable them to become possessed by the orixas. There is no

concept of good or bad in Candomblé. Each person is only required to fulfil his or her

destiny to the fullest, regardless of what that is. Candomblé is an oral tradition and

therefore has no holy scriptures. The first official temple was founded at the beginning of

the 19th century in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil.”(BBC News 2009) The Candomble we

know today has been cultivated in Salvador for the last two hundred years and although

under strict Catholic influence its managed to keep the traditions from Africa rather

intact. It also stands alone as the most the religion that is most empowering to women. The

high-priestesses in the tradition, the Iyelorixas, are highly respected and revered members of

society both inside and outside the Candomble temple. “I’ve been invited to various congress

to speak as Iyalorixa. I’ve been to the U.S.-New York and Washington, to Europe – Italy, and

London, and Africa, where the first time I went as a tourist then later I went as a guest three

times, to Benin and Nigeria.”(Mae Stella, 1995)


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“The situation in which the (African) woman arrived in Brazil is totally diverse

from the situation that she had in her places of origin. Slavery represented a radical

transformation in the relations between man and woman, and this transformation will

deeply influence her place in this new world.”(Consorte 2013)Slavery, as a process, strips

away the humanity of the captive. They become a commodity item to be used and discarded as

their master sees fit. In this environment men could no longer hold status and perpetuate

tradition as they had done across the ocean in Africa. It was up to the women to somehow

keep the knowledge of Africa alive. The hierarchy of Candomblé reflects this sense of secrecy

and importance about the knowledge that was kept from the mother continent. “African

women in Brazil had to construct themselves in this way (Candomblé). This context,

forced by the trafficking of slaves, will impose on the woman the role of reconstituting

the lost ties of family. In the means that (African) men in the slave trade torn from their

families as well as each member of the family being torn and distributed throughout the

Americas, the woman fit in detaining the function of giving continuity to a process that

was interrupted in the original continent. The woman then being owner of the secret,

owner of life, owner of maternity, she reconstructs this continuity as a form of

perpetuating her ancestral ties and recreating them here (in Brazil).”(Da Silva 2013)

The knowledge of candomble translates to the way the religion is practiced, and

the activities in the day to day lives of its practitioners. Other that the attempts of

scholars in recent years, there is no written scripture or book that dictates the way the

religion should be observed. Things such as the cuisine, the dances, the drum rhythms,

the proper costumes for each Orixa, the proper offerings, their influences in nature, the

correct conduct of the tenants of the house, how to treat a guest in the house, what to do


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if you’re a guest, etc. Candomblé is more than a religion, it’s a way of life. From the

cuisine to the interaction with nature and the way to deal with life’s problems, all come

together to form Candomblé. (Onykaya 2012) Basically every aspect of life for someone

who is a son of Orixa, represents the great body of knowledge that the women of the

tradition have preserved in their ancestral memory. “All of the toques of Candomblé,

meaning all of the songs, each have a rhythm, and each rhythm has a name. The Orixa

(embodying spirit), or the person who is dancing knows how to dance based on the

rhythms that are played, in this way Candomblé is also a “ballet”. In a traditional

Candomblé people dance barefoot and always with the feet on the ground, because you

need to always have a connection with the Earth” (Doxum)

To this day Candomblé is not really accepted in the Brazilian mainstream

culture. There are stereotypes that link it to demonic satanic worship, or rumors of

human sacrifice harm the image of the culture. I think that this problem is still rooted in

racism that still grips the country. There are still plenty of steps Brazil can take to one

day achieve racial equity. Candomblé is a religion that for five hundred years has resisted

persecution, opposition and discrimination. It’s a religion by blacks in Brazil and it’s the

blacks who’ve resisted to keep Candomblé alive. (Mokumbi 2013)

The significance of women goes much deeper than what may seem like holding

secrets. Their sense of power come from the fact that women, in their womb, hold the key

to life itself. There is a power, which they refer to as Axe, which allows them to transcend

this world and communicate with the realm of the Orixas. The fact that women are

traditionally the ones who raise children also has to do with their significance in

upholding tradition. An initiate in Candomblé has two mothers, the first is his biological In the City of Women: The Secret of Candomblé | Lucas De Paula Carneiro

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mother, ant the second is his Iyelorixa, when he was reborn for the glory of his Orixa.

Candomblé is a religion that was originally exclusively for women. Its only in recent

times that men have been allowed to practice. Women in Candomblé are sacred and they

are the original practitioners and preachers of the religion. (Onykaya 2012)

There’s this link to Catholicism in the Candomblé, with the worship of saints as the

Orixas, but the more I researched, I found out it was nothing more than a disguise to avoid

persecution. “Yes it’s just a mask, a façade. On one hand it’s amazing how the Portuguese

brought Catholicism to Brazil and how the Africans found a link to maintain, and re-create their

religion. In Nigeria each Orixa and Vudun, which are similar to Orixas, were worshiped in

different regions. Depending on the region of the country that’s where you would worship each

different Orixa, and the people from that region would teach you the dances and rhythms. When

the Africans came, they were mixed and now all the Orixas have to have their own little space in

which to worship. Some houses have compounds that allow each Orixa to have its own shack for

worship, other houses are small and might have one room with each corner designated for an

Orixa.” (Yudin, 2014)

Interview

I spoke with Linda Yudin on April 04, 2014. She was kind enough to invite me to

her home at the foot of the Hollywood hills. Right when I walked in, I noticed the

Candomblé influence in her home. She had little Bahiana figurines, curtains with

images of women in head wrap, and countless other artifacts from her time spent with

the Iyalorixas. Linda is the founding artistic director at Viver Brasil, a contemporary

dance theater company that “…is deeply rooted in the African heritage of

Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, and embodies the beautiful and mythic stories In the City of Women: The Secret of Candomblé | Lucas De Paula Carneiro

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of Afro-Brazilian culture.”(Viver Brasil) She was the perfect person to

comment on the significance of these Candomble women. With her

background in Dance Ethnology, along with her deep passion for the

culture of Salvador, Bahia, she had a really unique insight to the

importance of the heritage that the women of Candomblé represent. As

a researcher I like to go to different [Candomblé] houses to see what the differences are.

I’ve begun to connect the dots between the different houses in the tradition. There is a lot

that goes in to it.(Yudin, 2014)

Linda has spent over the last two decades immersed in the Candomble culture of

Salvador, Bahia. She was very enthusiastic at the opportunity of talking about Brazil and

the people she met there. When choosing her Master’s thesis for UCLA, she was deeply

inspired by a dance performance in one of her classes. “I had never hear of Salvador,

Bahia. I didn’t know It then, but it was all meant to be. When I saw the dance for the very

first time they came, and they call it…, they have a term in Afro-Brazilian dance called

the rice-and-beans show. It’s this basic folkloric model that was created by Emilio van

Carde, who is a very important ethnomusicologist, this model was to show that there

were components of life in Salvador, Bahia; which was the presentation of the Orixa

tradition in ceremonial costuming; Maculele, which is an Afro-Brazilian stick fighting

dance; They did this piece that was a contemporary Afro-Brazilian piece that combined

modern dance and and Orixa dances; and they did Samba de Roda, Capoeira, and that

was it at the time. This was in ’86. There weren’t too many groups performing the samba

ragge traditions as well. I just got there so I was like, “Oh my God!” There’s this country,

with this culture where they dance with their gods and goddesses, and they have this


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beautiful costumes and these beautiful ribbons, and just got completely taken away. In

three months I was in Brazil.” (Yudin, 2014)

I asked Linda if she was initiated in the tradition since she spent a lot of time in

Brazil. The way she spoke about the different aspects of the religion really impressed me,

as well as her fluent Portuguese. She really had examined this issues from an Afro-

Brazilian perspective, instead of as an outside researcher. This all meant that she had a

lot of firsthand experience with the knowledge of the Orixa tradition. “I am not fully

initiated, but I have done the first step, which is the Bori. Its when you seclude yourself

for a few days. But I have not become a full initiate. And in Candomble you can do that. I

like the “level of involvement” that I’m at, because once you get fully initiated there are

certain responsibilities that come along with that.” I also asked her opinion about the

women in Candomblé and why she thought they were so central to religion. Her answer

reflected a sense of motherhood that these women carry. A sense that is synonymous with

the sense of Africa as a motherland. “Candomble is very matriarchal. The women in

Salvador Bahia have created a memory of Africa that is very strong. The lineage that

came from Africa was matriarchal. Women were given that role and have taken in on

with an incredible sense of force, and axe. They have a deep sense of African faith that is

incredible to be around. The way they carry this tradition is remarkable. They were

lineage carriers cuz men were given other roles. The women had the ability to carry on

not only their family but also this religious family. The Candomble is a place for women

to have their power. Outside the house their choices were very different, especially

during slavery. They have a strong desire to bear, to carry on this lineage that they

brought.” (Yudin, 2014)


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Linda was really the one who solidified my ideas about Candomble and brought

focus to the way I was thinking about the tradition. Because Candomble, at its core, is

exactly that: a tradition that was brought to Brazil from Africa, and that is propagated by

the women that practice, and teach their religion that they hold so sacred. What I mean

when I call them culture bearers, is that I think that what they have so gracefully,

intelligently, and creatively done is brought a piece of Africa to the Americas. They

managed to recreate this large memory of their legacy. It comes out in food, dance,

prayer, the way they walk and this sense of swing that is all over Brazil. It’s this sense of

Africa that they’ve preserved in Brazil. This sense of samba that come from a religious

tradition. They’ve done it with complete grace and beauty. I really believe that. I’m so

thrilled to have become an adoptive daughter of these women. They understand that this

Orixa tradition allows us to walk in the divine. They’ve been able to realign humanity

with this sense of nature, and that god exists in numerous ways in this world. That you

can gain knowledge and strength, as well as maintain legacy through this tradition. They

have this other energetic force that brings alignment to this world. We get to experience

Africa through their ancestral memory.”(Yudin, 2014)

Conclusion

For most of my childhood, the only parental figure I had was my mother. She was responsible

for all our needs inside and outside the home. Looking back now I realize that growing up that

way instilled in me a great respect for strong women. The fact that I admire the women of

Candomble is no coincidence. They are the embodiment of resilience and strength in the

maternal form. They are mother Africa in the New World. What the women of Candomble and

their matriarchal ancestors have endured to keep this tradition alive is really remarkable.


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There is an entire way of life: language, food, customs, ritual, dances, music, poems, and

rhythms that togethere make up and encyclopedia of knowledge which has only flourished

despite all the odds. Because of people like the women of Candomble, like Dona Cici and Linda

Yudin, I believe this tradition is entering a brand new chapter in its existence. There is a new

era coming to the world of Candomble, fueled by the age of information, that will only serve to

perpetuate and promote this religion. And as long as its essence is intact, the religion of the

Orixas will grow to heights it’s never seen before.

Rhythm Appendix

PAÓ

The paó is a type of salutation, also a type of requesting permission. For example, it may be used when placing an offering of food on the altar.

AVAMUNHA

x ‧ ‧ x ‧ ‧ x ‧ ‧ ‧ x ‧ x ‧ ‧ ‧

Avamunha signifies the entrance of the Orixás.

EXÚ

x ‧ x ‧ x x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x

Exú is the Orixá that opens the way for the others to follow. He’s the boss of the streets, of the crossroads, so he has to come first. He’s a trickster, he’s vain, and he likes to have fun. If you don’t honor him first, he likes to mess things up, so he’s always the first called, with much respect.

The base rhythm used is Vassi.

OGUN

x ‧ x ‧ x x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x


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Ogun also has to do with the streets. He is war, he is technology. He is tied to Exú. And so, the rhythms also tie together. The same base rhythm, the Vassi, is used for both Exú and Ogun. The agogo, pi and lé patterns are the same. But Exú is slower, and then Ogun is faster, and the rum speaks a different language, another conversation. Ogun is celebrated on Tuesdays.

XANGO

Xango – He is severe or benevolent, depending on the situation. Wielding an axe in each hand, he is responsible for thunder and lightning.

Xango was from Oyó, he was king of Oyó. An important Orixá. The rum is played with two hands, without the aguidavi in the right hand. And the pi and lé play the Vassi rhythm, the base pattern in six. The rhythm becomes very different by the way it is executed. Also, it’s divided into three parts. First, the Alujá, which starts out slowly, and then the Tainibóbé, which is another rhythm that corresponds with the dance. And third, it goes to Vassi.

(this rhythm has 3 parts)a. part I – x ‧ x ‧ x x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x (slow, Alujá)b. part II – x ‧ x x x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ (fast, Tainibobé)c. part III – x ‧ x ‧ x x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x (fast, Vassi)

OXOSSI

x x ‧ ‧ x x x ‧

Oxossi is the Hunter. Seen with a bow and arrow, he presides over Art, over freedom of expression.

The rhythm played for Oxossi is the Agere of Oxossi. It’s like you’re riding a horse, going to war, but at the same time, it’s the rhythm of someone who’s really observing everything. A static loop — the hunter, who knows how to walk, to look at whole picture. He’s also always got one foot in and one foot out, always in doubt if he’s going to commit to make his catch.

OSSAIN

x x ‧ ‧ x x x ‧

Ossain is the master of herbs, of sacred plants and sacred medicine. He is the son of Yemanja and Oxalá.

IANSÃ

x ‧ x x ‧ x x ‧


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Iansã is the spirit of the wind, of change. From Xango she learned the secret of lightning. She’s always falling in love.

The rhythm Ilú for Iansã is a vibrant rhythm, also called quebra-prato (literally break-dishes) because, Iansã, is a female warrior Orixá. Sometimes in syncretism she is tied to Joan D’Arc. It’s a very fast rhythm.

Iansã is connected to cemeteries. Just like Baron Samedi from Haitian Vodou. She also has lighting bolts.

OXALÁ

x ‧ x ‧ x x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x

Oxalá is the Supreme Father. The Orixá of peace, of balance, of fraternity, of union. Symbolized by white, by purity.

The Ibi de Oxalá is the rhythm of an old man walking. Old man Oxalá, known as Oxalufan. Young Oxalá is known as Oxaguian, .

The rhythm sounds like someone walking, very slowly, and sometimes it seems to come back around. Sometimes you can lose where the “one” is! You look for it, but sometimes it’s hard to find. It’s the same Vassi rhythm, but played with a very different intention. If you pay close attention, for Oxalá, the varinhas (pattern played by the pi and lé) is the same pattern as for Ogun. But the accentuation is different. Something has changed. Sometimes it sounds like it’s in seven. Sometimes it sounds like it’s a three-beat rhythm, or a six. So the old man, walking in this way, dressed all in white, is very clever, and very patient.

OXUM

x x ‧ v ‧ v v ‧ x ‧ x ‧ v ‧ v ‧

The Ijexá for Oxum uses two cowbell tones, therefore the agogo.

Ijexá is played with only the hands. The pi, lé and rum are played with two hands.

YEMANJÁ

x ‧ x x ‧ ‧

Yemanjá is the queen of the ocean, the nurturing mother of all. Seen as a mermaid or dressed in pearls and blue.


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The rhythm played is the Jinká for Yemanjá. It has something to do with the ocean.

OMOLU

x x x ‧ x x x ‧ x x ‧ x ‧ x x ‧

Omolu – a.k.a. “Obaluayê”, or “King of the Earth” in Yoruba. Omolu is extremely important because he can bring disease, but can also bring health, the absence of disease.

Omolu is the scariest of all of the Orixás, the most mysterious. He has to do with illness, he’s got a pretty heavy energy. For Omolu we play the rhythm named Opanijé. He also goes by the name Obaluayê. There is the young Obaluayê, and the old Obaluayê.

OXUMARÉ

x ‧ x x x ‧

Oxumaré is a rainbow serpent. A symbol of continuity and permanence, sometimes also represented as a serpent eating its own tail.

Rhythm for Oxumaré is the Sató of Oxumaré.

BATÁ

x x ‧ ‧ ‧ ‧

Batá – this rhythm, in three, is not connected with a specific Orixá and serves multiple purposes in the ritual.

BRAVUM

x ‧ x x ‧ ‧

Bravum - this rhythm is not connected with a specific Orixá and serves multiple purposes in the ritual.

AGABI

x ‧ x ‧ x x ‧ x ‧ x ‧ x

Agabi – this rhythm is not connected with a specific Orixá and serves multiple purposes in the

ritual.


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References

"TERREIRO: Um vídeo documentário sobre o Candomblé©." Perf. Mae Ya Mokumbi, Mae Aiyra Leque. YouTube. YouTube, 16 Sept. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.Faria, Lazaro. "A Cidade Das Mulheres." YouTube. YouTube, 14 June 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

A Cidade Das Mulheres. Dir. Lazaro Faria. Perf. Josildeth Consorte, Maria Jose Lopes Da Silva, Vivian Caroline, Maria Stella De Azevedo Santos. YouTube. YouTube, 14 June 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

"Candomblé at a Glance." BBC News. BBC, 15 Sept. 2009. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

CANDOMBLÉ: Quebrando Tabus. Prod. Camila Lazzarotti, Kelly Apuque, Ana Carolina, Nathalia Paulina, Fabiola Sabrina, Simone Diniz, Marcia Rocha, and Rita Cardoso. Perf. Renato Jadner (Onykaya). YouTube. YouTube, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkU0Os0mOVA>.

Mãe Márcia Doxum Fala Sobre O Candomblé (lindo Vídeo). Perf. Mãe Márcia Doxum. YouTube. YouTube, 27 June 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.

Yudin, Linda. "Women of Candomblé." Personal interview. 04 Apr. 2014.

“A Orquestra Do Candomblé." A Orquestra Do Candomblé RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.

"About - Viver Brasil." Viver Brasil. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014


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In the City of Women: The Secret of Candomble