Umbanda

Umbanda is a religion that emerged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1920s. Derived principally from Spiritism, it also combines elements from Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catholicism. There is no central authority in control of Umbanda, which is organized around autonomous places of worship called centros or terreiros. The followers of Umbanda are called Umbandistas. It is roughly divided between White Umbanda, which is closer to Spiritism ((a French version of Spiritualism developed by Allan Kardec), and Africanized Umbanda, which is closer to Candomblé. Umbandistas express belief in a single God who is distant from humanity. Beneath this monotheistic entity are powerful non-human spirits called orixás. In Spiritism influenced White Umbanda, orixás are viewed as divine energies or forces of nature. In African-oriented forms of Umbanda, they are seen as West African deities and animals are sacrificed to them. The emissaries of the orixás are the pretos velhos, the spirits of enslaved Africans, and caboclos, the spirits of indigenous Brazilians. These are entities that are regarded as being approachable by Umbandistas. Although they are only the emissaries of the orixás, the pretos velhos and caboclos are prominent in Umbandist rituals. During these rituals, spirit mediums sing and dance with the hope of being possessed by these spirits, through whom the congregations receive guidance, advice, and healing. Umbanda teaches a complex cosmology rooted in spiritual evolution through a series of reincarnations. Below the caboclos and pretos velhos there exists a large number of unidentified guias (spirit guides) and espíritos pretetores (spirit protectors). Other types of spirit found in Umbanda include the boiadeiros (cowboys), crianças (children), marinheiros (sailors), malandros (rogues), ciganos (gypsies) and sereias (mermaids)The Umbanda ethical systems emphasizes charity and social fraternity. Umbandistas also seek to reverse damage that they attribute to practitioners of a related tradition, Quimbanda. Roman Catholicism was the dominant religion in early 20th-century Brazil, but a sizeable minority practiced Afro-Brazilian traditions or Spiritism. In the 1920s, various groups may have been combining Spiritist and Afro-Brazilian practices, forming the basis of Umbanda. Adherants of Umbanda believe in a single God (sometimes called Olorun, a name of Yoruba origin) who is the creator and controller of the universe, a being that presides over the astral world but who is distant from humanity. Beneath the supreme God exists a pantheon of spirits who influence and intervene in humanity's daily lives. An important distinction is made between the material world and the far superior spiritual world. Many Umbandistas believe in a three-part cosmos, divided into the astral spaces, the earth, and the underworld. More highly evolved spirits dwell in the astral realm, spirits incarnated in physical forms reside temporarily on earth, and malevolent and ignorant spirits inhabit the underworld. The barrier between these worlds is permeable, so spirits from both the astral and underworld realms can visit the earth.