Initiation, gift and historicity in Bahian Candomblé.

8/10/2019 Initiation, gift and historicity in Bahian Candombl.

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Initiation, gift and historicity in Bahian Candombl.

Roger SansiDepartment of Anthropology

Goldsmiths College, University of London

In the last years, a unified, authentic version of Afro!"ra#ilian religion is $eing

imposed in Candom$l% temples in the state of "ahia $y an officially recogni#ed

$ureaucratic organism, the &ederation of Afro!"ahian cults '&("ACA")* +his federation,

ith in-uisitorial methods, is imposing a ./etu. model of initiation, $ased on the

traditions of some poerful Candom$l% houses in the city of Salvador, hich have

gained legitimacy since the $eginning of the century $y attracting anthropologists, artists,

and politicians* 0oever, this ./etu. tradition is only one in an infinitely varied set of

ritual traditions and practices* "ut my argument here is not simply to defend the

recognition of other African nations of Candom$l%* 1ore than a set of transfi2ed

esta$lished traditions, Candom$l% practices are products of historical creativity* +his

creativity can $e descri$ed through the particular gift of certain people ho recogni#e

the historicity of certain events! their revelatory -ualities, finding ne spirits ith hom

they rerite their life and their history* I ill concentrate in the case of 0elena, a

Candom$l% priestess in Cachoeira, hose ritual poer comes from her gift to find her

Slave spirit and her Ca$oclo 'Indian) spirits, and her struggle ith the $ureaucrati#ed

authentic /etu tradition* 3ith this case I ant to put into -uestion the imposition of

official, unified models of pure African identity throughout the "lac4 Atlantic*


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Initiation

"ut $efore tal4ing a$out 0elena, may$e it ould $e necessary to outline hat is

descri$ed as initiation in /etu Candom$l%, and the ethnographic literature,

overhelmingly concentrated in /etu houses '"astide 5678, "innon!Crossard 5679, (l$ein

dos Santos 5677, A#evedo Santos 566:)

1any initiates in Candom$l% affirm that they didn;t or ?saint; 'santo), o$liged them to pay them

orship 'defined as obrigao, or ?duty;)* +he ?saint; can cause physical, mental and social

afflictions if the people they ant do not fulfil their duties* Sometimes the ?saint; as4speople to ma4e the saint 'Fazer o santo) hat is scholarly descri$ed as initiation*

Initiation in these terms implies not only total su$ordination to the saint, $ut also to a Me

de santo ho puts her hand on the head of the ne initiate* Doing this, she is sharing her

ax,her vital poer, ith the ne initiate* +he initiate $ecomes a daughter 'filha) of the

house of Candom$l% $y sitting don her saint in the altar of the house 'having a ?santo

assentado). After that, she $elongs to the ax, to the house, hich also means that he is

no ?o$liged;, in de$t ith the =ri2>, and ith the house@ she is at the $asis of a

hierarchical structure, leaded $y the me de santo*

?1a4ing the saint; is a very concrete, material process@ it is not e2actly a religious

revelation or conversion, nor a schooling of the myths, songs and prayers, $ut it consists in

learning to deal ith the ?saint;, understand its re-uirements, and fulfil them satisfactorily*

&or that purpose, the initiate has to learn a num$er of ritual techni-ues, including essential

$ody techni-ues for the incorporation of the ?saint;, ma4ing offerings and $uilding shrines*


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+his is a dialectical process of o$, the rituals, the secrets, the axof the house*

+hen she ould $e a$le to open her on house, if her me de santogives her theDeca*

+he Deca is the ritual hen some$ody is given the poer to open her on house ofCandom$l%* It can $e also called ?dar a navalha, ?give the ra#or;, $ecause it puts into play

the $estoing of the capacity of ?raspar cabea, ?shaving head;, that is the poer to

initiate people, to ?assentar; and fazer o santo, sitting and ma4ing the saints* +he axof

the ne house ill remain, hoever, alays connected to the original axof the house

here the neMe de santo as made it is said that in truth, it is the same ax.

In a ay, the process of initiation transfers the agency from the ?saint; to the initiate,

from an initial moment in hich the person is


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a$solute poer of the priestess, the me de santo* 0ierarchy is everything@ $eginning,

means, end* 3ithout it, it;s chaosB in the ords of 1e Stella '566:), one of the popes

of the /etu tradition* +he axis reproduced $ut it remains alays the same*

+his account o$viates the fact that not everything is learnt in initiation, as much as

no recipe, ritual, or prescriptive method is enough to $uild a person* +here are

impondera$le things@ as much as not every$ody is called to ?ma4e the saint;, even less

people are called to $ecome ?mother of the saint;* =ne does not only need a straightforard

initiation, $ut also a particular ?gift; 'don), an innate capacity to recogni#e and

communicate ith the ?saint;'"oyer 566)* Candom$l% is not


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=nce they have ta4en aay their assentos, thefilhas de santomay re$uild a shrine

at their on place* And if they are ?gifted; enough, and 4eep a good relationship ith their

?saint;, or convince people that they have enough ritual seniority, they can $ecome mes de

santo on their on* +he ne2t section is dedicated to one of these cases, 0elena of

Cachoeira, a me de santoho oes more to her gift than to initiation*

Helenas Spirits.

0elena is a $lac4 oman in her forties, and she lives in a poor slum of Cachoeira, near"ahia* 3hen I met 0elena, she as


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very ild spirit 'm"ito bravo%)* 0e didnJt dance, he ?tal4ed Gree4; 'hich is li4e saying

an impossi$le language), he as a ild Indian* "ut other Ca$oclos from other houses

taught him to sing and spea4, and no he gives advice to people*

0elena started $y ma4ing an obrigao to her Ca$oclo inviting family and

friends, and then thefestagot $igger and $igger@ her Ca$oclo as $ecoming famous in

Cachoeira Keople started to as4 him for help, and she started helping people ma4ing

limpezas'cleanings), ebos'offerings) trabalhos 'spells), and obriga&es,that is, helping

people ma4ing offerings and spells, and paying their ?duties; to their spirits, or giving

them remedies for the general pro$lems of life, love and sic4ness* 0elena as learning to

or4 ma4ing these ebosand trabalhoson the spot@ herpai de santohad not taught her

anything* In her on ords, no$ody has taught me anything, everything I 4no comes

from the Gift I haveii.+he gift of $eing a$le of seeing, finding, and incorporating

spirits*

0elena incorporates other spirits $esides 'aboclo=2ossi, and her three =ri2>s,

Ians, =2um, =$aluaiy% the Slave, an(x" an(r),a child spirit, calledFlor *ranca

'hite floer), and ara, a gipsy oman* * If one ?pays; to (2u, one can $e sure that he

ill ?or4;, and that is the reason he is called +he ?Slave; or (2u, is associated ith the

devil* 0e is called the Slave $ecause he or4s, he or4s for those ho pay to him F as

opposed to higher spirits, li4e the =ri2as, ho don;t or4! $ut ma4e people or4 for

them* +he Slave is apparently su$ordinated to the 1e de Santo, differently to the =ri2>s,

ho ?rule;* "ut he ?Slave; is also e2tremely suscepti$le and tric4y, his su$ordination is

am$iguous* If one does the offering the rong ay, or stops doing it, or some$ody pays

him $etter, the ?or4; of (2u 'trabalho) can have a pay!$ac4* 0e can easily $etray you*

+hat is ay he ta4es the image of a malandro, a street hustler or rogue, or a

prostitute, in the case of his female counterpart, Kom$a Gira* 0elena;s Slave appeared to

her as a $lac4 man elegantly dressed in a hite linen suit and ith golden teeth, on night

in the indo of her house* 0e reproached her for not $elieving in him, and to sho his


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poer, he told her that the same night her hus$and ould sho up late, on a $i4e,

$ecause he as spending the evening ith a lover* She understood that the man ith

golden teeth as (2u* 3hen her hus$and came $ac4 to sleep late, 0elena felt in a very

violent trance@ (2u as possessing her, and in her $ody, he $ro4e her man Js $i4e

+errified, he confessed his infidelity*

+he (rMFlor *ranca, is a son of Ca$oclo =2ossi* 0e as a street child, a menino

de r"a@ he li4es to hang out ith street children, $eggars, potheads, and he li4es reggae

music* Li4e his father, &lor "ranca is a generous spirit, and he organi#es $ig parties every

year at the $eginning of =cto$er* +hese parties are full of food and seets for children,

reggae music, and games*

Sara the gipsy also has a special story* Since she as a teenager, a gipsy oman

appeared hen she had sentimental pro$lemsiii* +heziganastarted to ;sei#e; 'pegar) her,

and she started to gives parties to her* She tal4ed to people and e2plained her story, and

thus she learned a$out her@ that her name as Sara and she came from (gypt* Sara;s

parties are very elegant@ she smo4es cigarettes ith a long filter and drin4s champagne*

She does not li4e Candom$l% music either@ she listens to gipsy music in the radio* Sara

attracts a lot of men, $ecause of her sophistication*

All these spirits are very different@ Ca$oclo =2ossi is a ild Indian, hile the (r)

&lor "ranca is the spirit of a "ra#ilian street child 'menino da r"a), and Sara a gypsy

oman that reads the future smo4es cigarettes and drin4s champagne*** +hese spirits

change ith time, ?evolve;, li4e 0elena is also changing* +he relationship of the spirits to

their $odily counterpart gros closer over time, it $ecomes more intimate and su$tle, and

the circulation of spirits $ecomes softer and easier* +he spirits $ecome round characters

ith time* +hey have a particular history, and certain characteristics that $ecome familiar

to the community* =ne can often hear funny stories a$out festas, comments that the

'abocloor the(remade to so and so in loud voice, things that they did that em$arrassed


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=n the other hand, axare also o$s, and the =ri2>s

may concede giving their protection to their devotees* 3e 4no since 1auss '56:9) that

in gift e2change people alays give something of themselves@ gifts are personali#edinstances of the ?parti$le; or ?distri$utive; person 'Gell 5668, Strathern 568)* +he person

in Candom$l% is in a continuous process of construction through this history of mediated

e2changes, enhancing her ax* +he history of the vital groth, of the continuous process

of construction of the person, is also the history of the groth and development of the

house*+he axis shared $y the house, the mae de santo, and the other persons in the

house* And this +x is a living-uality* It has to $e ta4en care of as a living entity@ its

groth is organic, not accumulative, and it cannot $e divided, separated or -uantified*

=ne+x remains alays the same even if it has $een ?distri$uted; or ?reproduced; in

other houses*

In this sense hen tal4ing a$out axas a form of value, I am not tal4ing a$out

anything resem$ling sym$olic capital in "ourdieu*+xis not -uantifia$le or divisi$le, it

cannot $e accumulated* It is not o$


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ithout distinction $eteen an o$


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unprecedented o$


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process of purification, that in many ays, has also re-uired the particular gifts of some

paisand mes de santo* "ut that of course ould $e another paper*


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566:Me" 0empo +goraC(+0RU, Curiti$a*

"AS+ID(, Roger

5678'56:8) candombl da *ahia.(d* acional, So Kaulo*

566:'569)1es 2eligions +fro 3*rsiliennes.K*U*&, Karis

"I=!CR=SSARD, Gisle

5679 'ontrib"tion a l4t"de des 'andombls a" *rsil, 1e 'andombl +ngola, &LS0, U* de Karis,

+hse de Doctorat

"=URDI(U, Kierre

5675 Gense et structure du champ religieu2*2ev"e Franaise de ociologie5E, n*N, p* E6P!NNP

"=Q(R, T%roni-ue566 VLe don et l; initiationW, in145omme, 5N8, pp*7!EP

CAR(IR=, (dison5665 '56P8) 'andombls da *ahia.Civili#aXo "rasileira, Rio de aneiro*

(L"(I D=S SA+=S uana. 5677 s #ag$ e a Morte* To#es@ KetrYpolis*

G(LL, Alfred

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5666etite rflexion s"r le c"lte moderne des die"x faitiches* Synth%la$o, Karis

E9951 (spoir de 6andore* Zditions de La D%couverte, Karis

1AGGI(, Qvonne567E 7"erra de rix/ ahar, Rio de aneiro*

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SA0LIS, 1arshall

56855istorical Metaphors and M-thical 2ealities* +he University of 1ichigan Kress, Ann Ar$or*

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i +he Afro!"ra#ilianist tradition has alays underscored the relationship of the Ca$oclo in Candom$l% ith the Ca$oclo as a national sym$ol* =nly more recently,

+elles dos Santos' 566:) has underlined the possi$le "antu origin of the Ca$oclo* Although it is possi$le that the cult of the Ca$oclo has some connections ith central African

ritual practices, I don;t thin4 it is necessary to loo4 for an alternate African origin* Instead, e could say that the cult of the Ca$oclo is the result of the encounter of certain African

ritual practices ith a certain historical situation in "ra#il*

ii Kersonal Communication, Cachoeira, 1arch E, E99N*

iii0elena lived ith a man, in very poor conditions* =ne day the man a$andoned her for another oman* She ascrying in the door of her house and she sa a $eautiful gipsy oman* 3hy do you cry She as4ed her* 0elena e2plained hercase, the gipsy oman laughed and said she ould help her* Some days latter she 4ne that her hus$and;s lover had to go tothe hospitalB+hen the gipsy oman came $ac4* Do you ant to stop suffering she said@ I can help you then you have tota4e care of me* 3ith time she forgot a$out that event* Some years latter, she had four children and her hus$and hada$andoned her definitely* 0er mother as sic4 and she had to ta4e her to a hospital in Salvador, $ut she had no money* +henthe gipsy oman appeared and said some$ody ould sho up and ould help her* In the train station she found a man hogave her money* +hey $ecame lovers, latter on*

iv I could e2plain a couple of anecdotes* A friend of mine as em$odying an (re' child spirit) and cele$rating its festa* I remem$er one comment that the (re made to

the sister of my friend*@ she told her loudly @ you loo4 ugly ith these clothes* (very$ody , even the sister, laughed* +he sister as, that day, $eing ?suspended; e4ede, a title in

Candom$l%, and she as earing special honor clothes, that ere not her usual gear, and she had $een -uite serious in the precedent hours* Another case, that some$ody e2plained

to me, as a Ca$oclo that as $eing incorporating a oman* +he hus$and of this oman called to the Candom$l% house, $ecause it as late and she asn;t coming $ac4 home*

+he Ca$oclo pic4ed up the phone and told the man to calm don, that right then her ife as ith him $ecause he anted to dance and drin4****

vA$iodun gives several possi$le translations from Qoru$a@ the ord aseis variously translated and understood as;poer;, ?authority;, ?command;, ?scepter; the ?vital force; in all living and non!living things or ?a coming!to!pass; of anutterance, a logos proforicos' A$iodun 566P@7E), in other terms, a performative poer, a poer that ma4es things happen,and that is manifested in events* In the Afro$a#ilianist literature, Carneiro descri$ed axas the magical foundation of theCandom$l% house, its reason to e2ist 'Carneiro 5665@5N:), iegler '567:) identified it sacred o$

Initiation, gift and historicity in Bahian Candomblé.

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