In my last post, I wrote about Cariocas’ tradition of making an offering to Iemanjá on New Year’s Day. This melding of many religious traditions is one of my favorite aspects of living in Brazil.
[If you're not in the mood for the back story, skip to the video at the end, which I think is quite beautiful.]
When the Yoruba tribe was stolen from Africa and brought to Brazil as slaves, they carried a religion called Candomblé. Candomblé is a polytheistic religion, so there are many Orishas (god and goddesses) who have very human qualities: pride, jealousy, revenge, and so on. But Orishas also possess many beautiful qualities like love, protection, and the ability to bestow luck on those who believe in them.
In Rio and Sao Paulo, Candomble is referred to as “Macumba,” which is closer to Haiti’s Voodoo or Puerto Rico’s Santeria. I’ve noticed that people get very, very nervous when Macumba is mentioned, particularly in the area where we live. People will find little bags filled with three kernels of corn and a lock of hair in their field, and become certain that someone in their family is about to die (or something like that). I’ve been inclined to write the darker aspects of Candomble off as superstition, but too many rational, intelligent people I know seem to take Macumba very seriously, so I planted an Arruda plant outside my doorstep, just to be safe. I was told that it provides protection from bad spirits. It stinks like cat pee, but I’m not taking any chances.
What’s really fascinating is that many Brazilians who have been raised Catholic keep an altar to their personal Orisha in their homes. It’s not uncommon to mention the “energy” of a particular Orisha when discussing the weather or love or a challenging situation. There are parties to celebrate the Orishas throughout the year, as I mentioned back in June when we went to a party in honor of Sao Joao, who is the Orisha Xango dressed in a Catholic Saint’s clothing.
Are you following this?
On New Year’s Eve the champagne caused us to forget our offerings to Iemanjá, the Goddess of the Sea. Instead, we made our presentation of white gardenias on New Year’s Day. Here we are, making our wishes for 2011 on Arpoador, the beach that divides Copacabana and Ipanema.
Listen as Tiana and Alex sing to Iemanjá:
On the second of February, Day of the Festival of the Sea
I want to be the first to greet Iemanjá
I wrote a letter to her asking her to help me
Then she responded that I must have patience and wait.
The present that I gave her of carnations and roses bore fruit
It arrived, it arrived, it arrived. Finally it arrived.
It arrived, it arrived, it arrived. On the last day it arrived.
Dia dois de fevereiro
Dia de festa no mar
Eu quero ser o primeiro
A saudar Iemanjá
Dia dois de fevereiro
Dia de festa no mar
Eu quero ser o primeiro
A saudar Iemanjá
Escrevi um bilhete a ela Pedindo pra ela me ajudar
Ela então me respondeu
Que eu tivesse paciência de esperar
O presente que eu mandei pra ela
De cravos e rosas vingou
Chegou, chegou, chegou
Afinal que o dia dela chegou
Chegou, chegou, chegou
Afinal que o dia dela chegou
