“head-beating” and the congá: mutability in...

29Ciberteologia - Journal of Theology & Culture – Year II,, n. 15

“Head-beating” and the Congá: Mutability in Umbanda�

Brígida Carla Malandrino�

Abstract: Umbanda is not characterized by its centralizing power, and much less by its symbolic ritual inflexibility. It is a religion in a process of continuous transformation, and this is one of its most remarkable characteristics. The unique multiplicity of qualities found in umbanda is the result of the amalgamation of traditions that took place during its formation. The objective of this study is to understand the symbolic and ritual mutability of umbanda. It is possible to affirm that this very symbolic and ritualistic mutability is basically the result of three factors: the influence of the Bantu cultures on the formation of umbanda, the fact that umbanda is a popular-religion phenomenon and the fact that umbanda is part of the mediumistic continuum. We give special emphasis to the congá (T.N. - the umbanda altar) as an example of a symbol and to “head-beating”, as an example of a ritual. Key words: Umbanda, syncretism, symbolic and ritual mutability, Bantu.

IntroductionIt is possible to say that umbanda possesses both a symbolic and a ritualistic mu-

tability. This mutability can be traced in the differences found in the different um-banda terreiros (T.N. ritual sites, or temples), and the changes that took place over the course of time in any one specific terreiro (cf. Malandrino, 2003), this being a constant process of transformation. Umbanda appeared and developed in urban and industrialized centers, where each terreiro arranged and blended elements of a rich and varied religious tradition around some central points that did not change.

The unique versatility found in umbanda is the result of the mixture of traditions that came into existence during the period of its formation. Included in these tradi-tions we find the African cultures, popular Catholicism, the Kardecist spirituality, Indian traditions and the oriental traditions, which contributed towards one of its most outstanding characteristics, religious syncretism. The objective of this essay is to understand the symbolic and ritual mutability of umbanda in the light of these traditions. It is possible to say that this symbolic and ritual mutability is basically the result of three factors: the influence of Bantu culture in the formation of umbanda, the fact that umbanda is a phenomenon of popular religiosity and that umbanda is inserted in the mediumistic continuum. As a way of studying this mutability and the influence of these different traditions, we highlight, as an example of a symbol, the congá and, as an example of a ritual, the ritual of the “head-beating”.

Origin and formation of umbandaUmbanda appears as a symbolic answer of the Afro-Brazilian populations, that

migrated into the urban centers at the beginning of the 20th century, as their means of dealing with the new reality that made its presence felt. It consisted of a religious and symbolic instrument for reading the surrounding world, a symbol that allowed them to hold on to the African traditions (even if they had been changed), and at the same time it allowed for, through the assimilation of other religions, its legitimating and social acceptance:

� This work was first presented during the XI Latin-American conference on Religión y Etnicidad, which took place 3 to 7 July, 2006, at the Methodist University, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo.

2 Masters and doctorate in Religious Sciences - E-mail: [email protected]

30 Ciberteologia - Journal of Theology & Culture – Year II,, n. 15

One is not dealing here with magical degradation but with mythical construction (old Negroes, half-breeds, impure spirits were slowly coming into existence), nor are we referring to the action of bewitched individuals over a fragmented clientele, but instead with religious groups formed as a reaction to the anomic social context, possibly anchored to principles and concepts of Bantu origin (Negrão, �996, p. 37).

Umbanda, even while being a religion of syncretic formation, originating from the primitive macumba, did not just simply bring together aspects of different reli-gions. It was formed by using elements of different cultures and, to a certain extent, as a synthesis of all of them, generating an integrated whole, even if in constant transformation and tension with the different components. According to Negrão:

[...] in the syncretistic process, the synthesis that was to come into existence using the diversified cultural material would not result in a homogeneous final product, but continued holding on to the differentiated traditions in a tense relationship within the same. In spite of this, one of them would always hold prevalence. [...] This tense coexistence of differentiated principles, even if one or other tends to predominate, helps us understand the reality of umbanda as a complex field. The resulting synthesis of the syncretism does not terminate in one fully homogeneous and global-type product, such as is supposed by the concept in its positivist version, but points towards the preservation of the differences and antagonisms. What can be seen, however, within umbanda itself, is an integrated whole, formed by a range of forces in constant tension. (�996, pp. 36-38).

Consequently, umbanda must be understood as a synthesis, that is, the overcom-ing of the contradictions resulting from the different religious traditions through an ongoing process, which takes place in a slow gradual fashion. This religious synthe-sis created by umbanda brings with it: the religious practices of the African Bantus (brought to Brazil as slaves), together with the religious practices of other African groups, especially the yorubas; Catholic religious practices, especially those of the popular-religion type, as introduced by the Portuguese; Kardecist spiritualistic prac-tices introduced by European immigrants; Indian religious practices supplied by the native Indians; and also, oriental influences, such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Shintoism. Because of this umbanda can bear the regional and cultural differences that are to be found in Brazilian society and also in a class society, being considered by some authors as a typically Brazilian religion (cf. Concone, �987).

Umbanda is a type of bricolage, in which each integrating part, while being reinterpreted in keeping with a new formulation, still preserves something of the structures of its origin. This being the case, the complex whole is more influenced by one specific part, according to the place and importance held by it in the new structure. It is possible to notice in the ritual and in the umbanda setting the pres-ence of various elements from different religions. According to Magnani, this does not represent degeneration of either the African cults or Kardecist spirituality, but is the historical product of the re-elaboration of rites, myths and symbols, which within the new structure are given a new meaning (cf. Magnani, �986).

Therefore, when we speak of umbanda, we are not speaking of the juxtaposition of elements from the different religions, without there being any logic or connection between them. Umban-da came into existence as an answer to the needs of a group of individuals who had arrived in the metropolis, which was in the process of formation. As well as this, we can think that within this new religious structure symbols and rituals were created, coming from the unconscious that sought to answer the psychical needs of those involved. Therefore, symbols and rituals from other traditions end up getting a re-signification (Malandrino, 2003, p. 73).

The diversity present in umbanda from the beginning is not eliminated through time, because, according to Cavalcanti, umbanda is not a religion in search of a form, but rather a religion that has a specific form, that has as one of its outstanding characteristics heterogeneity and fluidity that are compatible with the symbolic and ritual system established (cf. Cavalcanti, �986).


In short, the formation of umbanda produced a new religion, and the organiza-tion of this new system of symbols was accomplished within a society. That sym-bolic system worked as a code that made an understanding of the events that were taking place possible, or in other words, a ritual and symbolic language that had its own internal logic. “A system of myths, symbols and imaginary representations, which is, in fact, the language of social formation”. (Lapassade, Shines, �972, p. 75).

Of the many elements involved in the establishment of umbanda, we would like to emphasize three which have already been mentioned above, that significantly contributed to the ritual and symbolic mutability of umbanda: the Bantu groups, popular religiosity and the mediumistic continuum.

The Bantu groupsSouza affirms that African slavery can be divided into three different periods.3

What is of interest to us here is the third moment, from �690 to �850, when the Angolan ports and the Costa da Mina (T.N. also known as the Slave Coast) port were the suppliers of slaves to Brazil, establishing a strong connection between Salvador and Costa da Mina, and Rio de Janeiro and Angola. According to her: “[...] more slaves of Sudanese origin arrived in the northeast and more Bantu slaves in the southeast, to be then redistributed from those two ports” (Souza, 2006, p. 83). Furthermore, for her: “The Bantu influence is the oldest and the most widespread all over Brazil, [...] the cultural manifestations of Bantu influence are the result of more ancient mixtures, incorporating elements of the Indian, Portuguese and Yo-ruba cultures” (p. 87).

As a result of the slave trade, the Africans and their descendents reformulated their religions as a way of keeping closer to their African cultural origins. However, this reformulation of their religions was the result of mixtures and, in the case of the Bantus, syntheses that suffered the influence of elements of the Indian, Portuguese and Yoruba cultures. Thus, we can call attention to one of the central characteristics of the Bantu culture, that is, the tendency towards spreading and its flexibility in relation to other religious observances, which caused the process of syncretism to developed in more favorable and, why not to say, more desirable conditions.

According to Prandi, the Bantus contributed to candomblé de caboclo (Candom-blé of the half-breeds) and candomblé de inquices (Candomblé of nkisi [T.N. sacred medicine]) that came together to form an Afro-Indian-Brazilian complex, giving origin to the formative matrix of umbanda. It is through the Bantu groups that the Indian elements become part of the Afro-Brazilian religions.

[The Bantus] [...] were “contradictorily both Brazilian and African at one and the same time. As meridional Africans, which they were, their remaining traditions directed them towards worshi-pping their ancestors, who, in Bantu Africa, were tied to the land, in the sense that each village had its own ancestors as an integral part of that geographical territory, whose worship was not transferable to other areas. As Brazilians, which they also were, they had an awareness of a truly territorial ancestral quality proper to the new land they now inhabited, the Indian. The Bantus and their descendants created a religion that came to be known as the gira de caboclo or candomblé de caboclo, which celebrated the spirits of the Indian ancestors” (Prandi, 2005, pp. �23-�24).

3 As well as this third moment, already mentioned above, Souza also refers to, the first “[…] stretching from around �440 to �580, slaves from the so-called High Guinea, in the Gambia river region, were sold in different places: in other parts of Africa, […] in Lisbon, […] the Atlantic Islands, […] the Cape Verde Islands, […] and in Spanish America. […] During the second moment, stretching from around �580 to�690, Luanda was used as the port through which the Portuguese commercialized the slaves. […] This was also the period of great sugar production in the Brazilian Northeast, Recife being under the control of the Dutch from �630 to �66�. These also occupied Luanda from �640 to �647, to guarantee the supply of slaves to keep the factories in operation”


Slenes, when dealing with the subject of the African inheritance of the Bantu groups that arrived here, argues that they have as one of their main characteristics the structure built around the family as a genealogy: “[...] as a kinship group that can trace its origin starting with common ancestors” (�999, p. �43). Their African roots are not tied to any particular place, but to a kinship group, of ancestors and a genealogical position, since they take their ancestors with them whenever they move. Another prominent aspect is their belief in values linked to the concept for-tune-misfortune, or in other words, “[...] the idea that the universe is characterized in its normal state by harmony, well-being and health, and that instability, mis-fortune, and disease are all caused by the pernicious action of spirits or people, frequently through sorcery” (p. �43). Consequently, the maintenance of ritualistic purity is the element that mediates the relationship between the human being and the spirits, being of utmost importance to guarantee the cultural objectives within this vision of the world. Ritualistic purity is preserved through means of objects and medicinal preparations, which are consecrated.

Despite our having certain reservations regarding some of the observations made by Arthur Ramos in his book The Brazilian Negro, the author makes some important observations concerning the Bantu groups regarding their religious aspects. Accord-ing to him, mythically, they believed in a supreme god, creator of the universe, and in a primordial couple that lived in a garden, from whom the rest of humanity emerged (cf. Ramos, 200�). Amongst the Bantus there was also a series of lesser gods that varied from place to place, which were worshipped, as also were the good and evil spirits:

The Negro Bantus have, in fact, a true worship of their ancestors and the spirits. They believe in the transmigration of souls and their metamorphosis even in animals, from where we get the funeral and totemic rites so widespread among those people. [...] there is a true organized spiri-tualistic cult called orodere. This is the reason why the fetishism of Bantu origin merged so easily into the spiritualistic practices, in Brazil (pp. 92-93).

Yet, according to him, mentioning as example the Pai Joaquim (daddy Joaquim),4 “what characterizes the macumba of Bantu influence, is not the protecting saint, but a family spirit which, from time immemorial, appears, invariably, being incarnated in umbanda. [...] this is what happens among the Bantu people, with the worship of their ancestors and household gods” (pp. �04-�05).

Therefore, when treating of umbanda, it is almost impossible to talk about the elements of pure origin for two reasons: first, because of the rapid syncretic process that took place in Brazil and, second, because of the Bantu influence on umbanda. As well as the above-mentioned characteristic of flexibility, the Bantu groups also had as their attributes, the worship of their ancestors and the spirits, a certain con-sistency on the mythological as well as in the ritualistic level and the difficulty in generalizing, which caused a permanent expansion of the system. It is also worth emphasizing that the Bantu groups that arrived in Brazil lived through the diaspora

4 The author makes an important distinction between Umbanda and Candomblé, because in the first case, the cult is centered around the person of the guide, who comes to the terreiro to do passes ( imposition of the hands) and give consultations. These guides maintain a very close connection with the medium, who operates as a horse, that is, the one on which the guide “rides” to become present on the earth. The guides in whom the medium incorporates are always the same, one being of the male sex and another of the female sex, depending on the Umbanda line in question. For example, the medium has an impure spirit and a pomba-gira , which are always the same, who takes possession of a coboclo or a cabocla and so on successively. Whereas in Candomblé, what we find is a cult based on the orixás, which have been syncretized as catholic saints. Perhaps, due to this, the author makes a distinction between the patron saint and the family spirit.


experience, which helps us understand that such groups go through two transforma-tion processes: the first on their arrival in Brazil and the second with the end of slav-ery and the movement into the urban centers. Therefore the Bantu influence on um-banda is an influence that has already undergone the intervention of other cultures.5

Popular religiosityAs already mentioned in the previous topic, umbanda is formed, and constituted

as a syncretic religion, that brings together elements of very different traditions, maintaining a structured body of relationships that sustain and reproduce them-selves, because they are of a symbolic nature. It can be understood as a way that certain people use to bring together, transform and understand the world and their needs. It is possible to say that umbanda is a phenomenon of popular religiosity.

Popular religiosity appears some times as a phenomenon of social reproduc-tion, other times as an element of transformation. This happens to the extent that as popular culture is understood as a social ingredient that organizes itself in a power relationship, to which the very structure of the society of classes and the strata of society is joined. Uumbanda, in the other hand, continues to be a cultural product of spontaneous popular creativity, opposing and overcoming external interventions that try to change it, since, through the process of production and reproduction of knowledge, it keeps alive and unchanged forms and important notions, holding out against the co-optation efforts of the ruling classes. It could be said that one of its characteristics is its very ambiguity:

[a] [...] product developed by the ordinary people, that reflects the worries and ambitions cha-racteristic of its origin, it sees itself invaded, directed and committed to ideological expressions coming from the ruling classes. But umbanda tarries between the two orientations, some times it stands fast, other times it conforms (Negrão, �996, p. �80).

According to Ortiz (Cf. �980, p. 77-89), the phenomena of popular religiosity6 are not to be defined only by the social reproduction dimension. Many of them have a protest element that is expressed in the form of symbolic disorder.7 Popular religiosity is part of a whole that includes and transcends them at the same time, that is, the global society that transcends and determines the phenomena of popular religiosity. The connection between the popular cultural expressions and the global society is defined as a relationship of power, in which the hegemony of the groups and the ruling classes tends to delimit and invade the space of the lower classes, which however are not completely submissive, having pockets of resistance.

The popular religiosity space is an internally heterogeneous one. The contrasts - order/disorder, everyday/extraordinary – position themselves at the center of the popular universe. This heterogeneity occurs on two different levels in relation to the hegemonic culture. Popular religiosity is made up of anomalous pieces of different cultural traditions and the fragmentation consolidates itself within the cultural man-ifestations themselves. This happens because, when they appear as social facts, the phenomena of popular religiosity already present themselves in a fragmented fashion.

5 Cf. FERRETI, Sérgio. Repensando o syncretismo. São Paulo, Edusp- Fapema, �995. Despite the author not mentioning specifically the Bantu groups, he does rethink the question of syncretism

6 Renato Ortiz uses the expression popular culture. However, in this essay, we employ the expression popular religiosity, understanding it as being one possible manifestation of popular culture, which, while having many aspects in common with art, cordel and dance etc., it also possesses its own special characteristic.

7 Renato Ortiz uses Turner and Bourdie to help him define the power relationship established between the social order and the symbolic disorder.


This being the case, the type of fragmentation found in popular religiosity, is characterized by, as well as the social reproduction element, also by the opposite dimension - resistance. The process of cultural fragmentation is an obstacle to the bourgeois hegemony, because those small loopholes in popular religiosity make re-sistance possible. Besides, as a form of resistance to the world hegemonic process, it becomes an obstacle to the movement that tries to change and transcend it and, as such, it continues to survive and be transformed.

It is possible to say, then, that the logic of popular religiosity and, consequent-ly, the popular religiosity itself, works through the logic of “bricolage”. What this means is that there is a type of consciousness characteristic of the popular way of thinking, which does not permit a globalizing project of knowledge of the world. It is, because of that, a consciousness referred to by Ortiz as being fragmented:

Once the ordinary human being “bricolates” reality, he considers that the meaning of his/her action is determined by the material (and cognitive) universe available, as well as by the instru-mentality being sought. Because his/her universe of knowledge is limited and heteroclitic one, the multiplicity of actions undertaken corresponds to the “group of transformations” that the system of knowledge allows it. The common sense ethic is determined as an “instrumental ethic” , it is plural and varies to the extent that the combination of the parts of knowledge are handled (p. 85)

When we consider umbanda as a phenomenon of popular religiosity, we see that it possesses a certain ambiguity, since it reproduces the predominant social structure and at the same time works in opposition to it, principally because frag-mentation is one of its main characteristics, this being one its strongest points. It is characterized as being an act of cultural resistance, even if it is not being critical or questioning, opening up space for resistance to class domination, which is to be seen by its preservation of certain symbols and rituals, mainly those of a leftist nature.8 As well as this, it is a form of religion that expresses itself through means of “bricolage”, in which the available pieces of knowledge are grouped together in an attempt to solve everyday problems

The mediumistic continuumWorking with the idea that umbanda is a miscellaneous variety of traditions and

has as one of its main rituals guide incorporation in the person of the medium9 it

8 The giras (sessions) referred to as being left wing, are the ones in which there are exu (male impure spirit), pomba-gira (female evil spirit)s and zé-pilantra incorporations. It is normally a gira that uses drink, cigarettes and cigars. These guides, because they are of a more earthly nature, deal mainly with questions of work, love, and sexuality. Cleansing sessions also take place. The frequency of these giras varies from one terreiro to the other. For example, in the Circulo de Irradiação de São Lazaro, there is a left gira on the last Friday of every month. During the fieldwork in preparation for my Masters degree thesis, in 2003, as well as the monthly gira , there was also a left gira after each gira , as it was a time of great demand in the terreiro.

9 According to Malandrino: “the possession trance is the most important moment in the Umbanda ritual, or better still, the gira. It is also an important landmark, not only in Umbanda, but also in other Afro-Brazilian religions. In the giras the most important moment is the descent of the spirits, who descend to work and do charity. It can be concluded that an Umbanda gira does not take place without the possession trance or, in ordinary language, an incorporation. The possession trance is characterized by a varied state of consciousness (either partial or total), which are normally perceptible through defined behavioral, sensorial, perceptive and mnemonical changes. As well as the psychological aspect, the psycho-cultural element intensifies, explains and justifies the possession trance for the one who is being possessed and the community. It is a role learned in the case of guide incorporation, the same thing not taking place in the case of orixá incorporation. The better trained the individual is, the greater will be the possibility of control. During the possession trance, what is expressed through the behavior of the medium is God’s personality: he expressions, tone of voice, character and temperament make him recognizable by the community. In this religious universe, communication with the spirits is both normal and necessary, because only in this way can the medium and the guide practice charity. […] Because of this, in Umbanda possession is a


is classified by Cândido Procópio Camargo (cf. �96�, pp. XI-XIV) as being a medi-umistic religion. He proposes a religious continuum, which stretches from the most Africanized forms to the most orthodox Kardecist form. For him the appearance of mediumistic religions suggest an alternative way to facilitate the adaptation of the Brazilian human being to urban life

However, it is important that this movement, which took place within umbanda, be illustrated. According to Negrão, from �930 on, members of the middle class began to adhere to the Bantu cults and, by so doing, they began to bring those cults closer to the Kardecist practices, excluding what were considered to be some of the more “primitive” rituals:

The central myths of umbanda – pretos, caboclos and exus (TN – old slaves, and a person of mixed Brazilian Indian and European or African ancestry and impure spirits) – still continued to be present, but were given a new meaning, moralized and rationalized in the light of the ethical-doctrinal principles of Kardecist spirituality. The exus became baptized, that is, they are indoctrinated in keeping with the principles of conventional Christian morality, working now to do good, while undoing the sorcery performed by the “pagan” exus, who remain faithful to the old macumba, now referred to as quimbanda (�984, p. 27).

This process of the inclusion of whites and the persistence of Negroes, who saw in this change the possibility of moving up the social ladder, culminated in the formation of the umbanda federations, whose main objective was the promotion of the doctrinal, ritualistic and institutional unification of umbanda and the hold-ing of regional and national Congresses. However nor all of the terreiros joined the federations, but instead, refused to be subdued by the process of homogenization, which caused the upsurge of different umbanda terreiros, each of them incorporat-ing different practices – Kardecist spirituality or those of African or Indian origin -, all of which are important for it.

In this fashion, when Camargo proposed the continuum, he used Kardecist spiri-tuality as the paradigm, which would be the white, western pole, imbued with the Christian ethic. Within that continuum, umbanda would be the other pole: black and magical. Between these two there are infinite possibilities. Each terreiro, de-pending on how much of the Kardecist and umbandist traces were absorbed, would invariably be constituted as a specific microcosm.

Now, Lísias Negrão also uses the continuum idea (cf. �996, pp. 28-29), but proposes a change in relation to the Negro and magical pole. While formerly the Negro pole was represented by macumba, it is now represented by candomblé. For him, umbanda is the ensemble of intermediary combinatorial forms between two poles, with the pos-sibility of it being closer to either one or the other, in other words, the syncretic form always having a minimum of one of the poles. The religions that go to make up this continuum are Kardecist spirituality, umbanda and candomblé, which have as their common trait the mediumistic phenomenon,�0 even if dealt with in different ways.

collective phenomenon, as it is a socially acceptable process, in which the entities who are incorporated in the medium are part of the mythology and the representation system of the group. It is at the same time the individualization of the collective, because each medium personifies one or more of these entities, giving to them a personal interpretation

�0 There is a lot of divergence regarding the question of mediunity. Generally speaking it can be said that in the kardecist pole conscious mediunity predominates. In Candomblé, the trance is one of unconscious mediunity, in which the medium acts totally controlled by the orixá. It is the intermediary forms that are found in Umbanda, sometimes the medium is conscious, and on other occasions unconscious. The Umbanda understanding of the medium has varied forms. We can find the unconscious, conscious, clairvoyant, listener medium, all having different functions during the cult. However most commonly found in Umbanda circles is the intermediary type, or in other words, neither fully conscious or unconscious all of the time.


But is it possible to see all of these influences in the concrete symbols and rituals of umbanda? In an attempt to answer that question, we will now proceed to present one umbanda symbol - the congá - and one of its ritual - the “head-beating” ritual -, and then go on to establish their relationships properly speaking, relationships that will refer us back to the symbolic and ritual mutability of umbanda.

The congá (“altar”)The congá is normally located at the back of the terreiro, facing the public. It is

made up of a table where statues, pictures and other religious objects are placed, and has a close relationship to what is found underneath: the bases or foundations of the terreiro.11 Their arrangement can be quite diversified, having representations of Jesus Christ - but never the crucified one -, of saints, spiritual guides, angels, or symbols representative of these entities, as well as flowers, glasses with water, candles, stones and books. One thing they all hold in common is the absence of representations of the impure spirit (exu) and the pomba-giro (T.N. - female im-pure spirit).�2 Each congá has its own specific form, depending on the carnal and spiritual leader of the terreiro. It is representative of individuality, giving a specific identity to each terreiro. The congá is, quite often, called an altar, in reference to the Christian altar.

In one of the umbanda terreiros visited during field research for my master’s degree studies, the Centro de Umbanda União do Mundo, the congá was covered with a white towel. On top of this towel, we found types of alguidares or ves-sels,�3 where the candles of each of the follower’s and also the assistant’s candle are placed, which, according to the mãe-de-santo (T.N. “mother-of-the-saint” i.e. the female leader of the terreiro), are arranged in such a way as to represent an Indian village, since the spiritual leader is referred to as Chief Green Leaf. There we also find adjás or small bells�4, flowers, clappers, open books - the Bible, the Gospel Ac-cording to Spiritism with the Book of the Spirits, bread, wine, myrrh and oil.

11 According to Gomes: “[The foundations] […] are very special things, placed within the magical settings of the umbanda law, destined to give security to the house of worship and bind the orixás to it. The altar and the terreiro are magically made fast, as they need special protection. The altar is the reference point for all who come in search of help, be it moral, spiritual or material” (�989, p. �38).

�2 The absence of these entities on the altar is due to the fact that the dwelling place of the evil spirit and the pomba-gira is the crossroads, an outside place; they are not to be found inside the house. Normally, at the entrance and at the back of the terreiro, we find posts or pitchers belonging to the impure spirits. To exemplify this aspect of the impure spirit and the pomba-gira we can quote one of the myths found in Pradi’s work Mitologia dos Orixás: “And Orunmilá decreed that from then on all humans would live indoors. Suddenly Orunmilá turned to the impure spirit and said: And you evil one, indoors or outdoors?”. The impure spirit was taken by surprise by this abrupt question, worried as he was, thinking how he was to get one up on Orunmilá. He quickly replied: “Why, outside of course”. But quickly corrected himself: “No, on the contrary, inside” Orunmilá was of the impression that the impure spirit was only trying to cause confusion. He then said that he would act in accordance with the first answer given by the impure spirit. He went on to say: “From now on you will live outside and not inside the house. And that is how things have been since then. The impure spirit lives in the open air, in the passageway, on the trail, or in the fields. Different to the statues of other orixas, which are preserved inside the house and the temples, every time the humans make a statue or an image of the impure spirit, it is kept outside the house” (2000, p. 67).

�3 Alguidar is a pot normally made of clay, where the lighted candles are placed. It can also be used for the preparation of herbs, oils or other brews prescribed by the guides, when they are incorporated, to bless the people who have come for consultation.

�4 Adjás are small ritualistic bells normally made of metal or copper. They are used during some rituals, such as the ritual of head-beating, or when the medium incorporates the guides or orixás, to work in these situations as the one who directs the session. Their sound also serves to give direction to the orixá who has been incorporated, since the orixá himself cannot see. In this terreiro, in particular, each adjá is individualized, and each one has a ribbon with the colors of the orixá which each participant knows by heart, in this case masculine or feminine.


Now in the terreiro called Circulo de Irradiações de São Lázaro, poised over the congá there is a picture made up of coins in the shape of the sun. In front of it there is a representation of Jesus Christ on top of the terrestrial globe. There is a table with crystals and a seven-tipped Jewish chandelier. Underneath the table there are many little pitchers,�5 flowers, crystals and jobs that were done for the orixás, usually at the request of the guides.

The head-beating ritualAfter the greeting, when the followers touch the ground three times, which is

considered to be the first magical gesture in the sequence of the séance ritual, the moment the participant is certain that he/she is in an appropriate place for making contact with the sacred, the head-beating ritual takes place. In some terreiros, the head-beating ritual is done individually, as soon as the participant enters the sacred space,�6 or all together, accompanied by the intonation of certain chants.�7

In the head-beating ritual, the members of the terreiro move in the direction of the congá, before which they prostrate themselves on a small white towel, normally one for each person, placed on top of a raffia mat, and literally “beat their head. According to Gomes, “it is a sign of humility and reverence, in which the mediator proposes to abdicate his/her own personality and place him/herself in the condition of being a mere instrument at the disposition of the guide with whom they are about to work” (�989, p. �30).

In the “head-beating” ritual the medium hands him/herself over to the divinity, to the Other, body and soul. He places himself at the service of the divinity to allow

�5 Quartinha is the diminutive form of quartilhão. Both the quartinha and the quartilhão are porcelain recipients, with a lid. Normally, when they have handles, the quartinhas are feminine; and when they have no handles they are masculine. As explained by the mãe-de-santo , ACS, when interviewed by the author, on the cassette audio recording, São Paulo, 22.5.2003: “[..] there are separate quartilhões that belong to the daughters, which are the quartinhas, right, which we do not refer to as quartilhão, but quartinhas, right, understand, and are put inside the quartilhão, and which have their own foundations, have their own power, energy, force which is part of it, right. Her job is to look after it, so that she can understand the orixá, she is to put some special water in it, she is to look after the quartilhaõ as she does her own very soul… It is as if it were her essence and had a little of the essence of her soul and kept it inside the quartilhão and looked after it”. Now the pai-de-santo, AM, recorded by the author on an audio cassette, São Paulo 25.4.2003, affirms: “the bases, which they most certainly are, this is the materialization of energy, conferring life to an inanimate object, right, full of the energy of the orixá. Is this done for you or for the people at home? For the people at home. They all have their foundations. And they stay here or … Some stay here, others go home, so this is how it is: it is like this, this object becomes the orixá. The quartinha is the orixá. Which is the thing that we feel the need for, the ayê and of the orum. There we have the orum, right. There is the orixá. What I want to say is that, the quartinha does not represent, it is the orixá. It is the orixá, It is the materialization of the orixá, and so it always has a stone inside”.

�6 The umbanda terreiros normally have two separate spaces (normally, because there are some umbanda terreiros, which are so small that they do not have two physically separate spaces, just one. When the mediums become incorporated, a stool is placed outside the room for the assistant to wait to be called for consultation). One of these spaces is considered profane, where the assistant remains seated and watches the gira, and the other area is a sacred space, where the giras take place, where the mediums incorporate the guides, where the congá is to be found. There is a physical division between these two spaces, they are divided by curtains, flower pots, a small trellis-work or iron door. The movement from one space to the other, that is, from what we refer to as the profane space to the sacred space presupposes two ritualistic norms, which, if they are not fulfilled, the person is forbidden to remain in the sacred space. One must take off ones shoes and watch.

�7 In the dark of night/I was seated/in the dark of night/I was seated/adoring my crucified Jesus/adoring my crucified Jesus/White towel was red/white towel was red/by the blood that ran from his veins/by the blood that ran from his veins/I greeted oxalá, I greeted/I greeted oxalá, Lord/I came to greet my táta/my baba/in the umbanda, my babalão. Umbanda center união do Mundo, annotations, diary, field work, São Paulo, 2003, first semester. The fact that the subject is used in the feminine form is due to the fact that, in that terreiro, all of the members were of the female sex.


the divinity to make use of his body and his spirit as divinity sees fit. The individual is no longer present for himself, but for the whole community that needs him. Ac-cording to the pai-de-santo, the meaning of the ritual is as follows:

Then, when you beat your head, you are offering yourself to the congá, on the spiritual level, there is even a small formula that goes like this: “I hand over my body to the guides and my spirit to God”, right. Then, this way, it is a ritual of surrender and of welcome and of humility all at the same time. The act of beating ones head is the act of humble reverence on the ground, you are prostrate and then, right after that, you get up and then get the blessing from the pai-de-santo. [...] The ritual of “head-beating”. To beat ones head, is to give oneself over, it’s the way of the heart, which you, make this pact, for, because, of the common agreement, right, in the congá. It a sign of humility, it shows surrender, that you are ready to receive, to learn, right, to enter into com-munion, I consider head-beating, the powerful symbol of the house. You beat your head when you experience wonder, when you feel astounded, when you greatly respect, when you want to know, when you want to show your love (AM, 25.4.2003).

When carrying out the ritual of “head-beating”, the spiritualistic medium, in an attitude of humility, assumes the posture of surrender, placing the body and the cen-ter of his/her consciousness at the disposition of the divinity. This ritual is a prepa-ration for the restoration of the unity between the human being and the divinity, a unity that had been broken and which happens more explicitly during the incorpo-ration, during which the medium and entity become one. At this moment, there is a lowering of the consciousness on the part of the medium, when it is possible for the Other to make himself present. This ritual is a meaningful gesture on the part of the individual, through which he can make contact with the transcendent.

Final considerationsA first thing that catches ones attention in the congás used here as examples, is

their syncretic nature. We can see elements of each of the previously mentioned traditions: bells, rituals, pitchers and bowls, objects used in candomblé (T.N. – an Afro-Brazilian religion); the white towel and the books refer us to Kardecist spiritu-ality; the rattle, arrangement of the vessels, link us to Indian traditions; Jesus Christ, as representative of Catholicism, along with the bread and the wine, that represent the last supper; and, finally, the picture made from coins and the seven-tipped chandelier, connected to the oriental traditions.

All of these traditions are constantly in operation in the terreiros, but from this example alone, their presence is to be seen, remembering that each of them is a religious symbol, which has a meaning that goes beyond appearances. These ob-servations send us back to two important features: the mediumistic continuum and syncretism. Many different traditions go to make up each terreiro and help towards giving an understanding of the world. What distinguishes one from the other is, the extent and the way each terreiro absorbs the different traditions mentioned. In the case of the Circulo de Irradições Espirituais de São Lázaro, we can presume a great-er proximity to the Negro pole of this continuum, represented by the ancient ma-cumba and, the present day candomblé. While in the Centro de Umbanda União do Mundo, one comes much closer to the white pole, represented by Kardecist spirituality.

In either case, irrespective of the place held by each center within the mediumis-tic continuum, we can see that the both contain aspects of African traditions and of Kardecist spirituality. As for Kardecism, we see it in operation in the belief in the re-incarnation, in the study of mediunity, through means of books, and in the practice of charity. Then as regards candomblé, its presence is to be seen when we observe the designations, the main principles or foundations, the presence of the devil, the


work done for the orixás. It is important to mention the fact that the continuum, in the way that it is proposed, is not enough to explain the influence exercised by other traditions on umbanda, such as the Indian and Catholic traditions and the oriental trends, which are every bit as much present as candomblé and Kardecism.

As we had the opportunity to point out in relation to the traditions assimilated by each terreiro, they are both syncretic. However umbanda is not just a conglomera-tion of beliefs, but instead a combination of beliefs that goes to make up an inte-grated whole, that is, forming a religious system. Besides this, despite the absorption of the traditions, these are not preserved in the same manner as in their religion of origin, much less with the same rigid expression. The two terreiros are continu-ously building and rebuilding, introducing new aspects, while removing others. Such movement introduced by those umbanda terreiros results from not only of the characteristics of the religion itself, but also of the fact of it being an instrument used to answer the religious needs of the individuals present in the terreiro, which point towards the presence of some characteristics of popular religiosity, such as fragmentation and bricolage.

The head-beating ritual sends us back to the Bantu groups, mainly in what refers to their veneration of the spirits and their forefathers. On carrying out this act of reverence and humility, the follower prepares and purifies himself for entering into contact with the divine, represented by the spirits and the ancestors. The presence of many traditions in this ritualistic act, which present themselves in different ways in each terreiro, is also a fact, something that can be observed in the canticle used, which sends us back to some catholic symbols.

What is to be seen in umbanda is its symbolic and ritualistic mutability, that var-ies from terreiro to terreiro, but that also allows one to notice the existence of piv-otal points, used by each terreiro to form its own form of organization. For having suffered a greater influence of the Bantu groups, umbanda shows a strong tendency towards development and flexibility, which we can see in the constant transforma-tion, almost daily, and in its absorption of aspects of other religions. Besides, since the Bantu groups display no great consistency in the mythological field, it was pos-sible for umbanda, from the very beginning, to insert new elements, myths, rites and symbols in the core of its activity and in its explanation of the world.

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English translation: Thomas McGrath

“head-beating” and the congá: mutability in...

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