Candomblé: A Brazilian Religion

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In this paper, I will present a Brazilian religion called Candomblé and its relation with food. First, I will introduce the reader to some bases of the religion. Second, I will explain how food and Candomblé are interconnected. Finally, I will show some examples of this correlation in the life of the Candomblecists.
During the African diaspora to Brazil (1520-1888), slaves brought their music, dance, habits together. Their spirituality was not forgotten and one of its representations can be seen at Candomblé. This is a polytheist religion of oral tradition and has as theological basis the forces of nature, called Orixás or Saints (in Portuguese: Santos). Each Orixá represents a natural phenomenon or place.
Looking attentively to the religions …show more content…

Armesto dedicated some pages to study the sacredness of food and states that “societies have eating habits which belongs to the sphere of the sacred: there are some substances we consume to become holy or intimate with the Gods or spirits, and other substances stand between the flesh and the spirit, and enlarge the distance between men and the divine” . We can see, based on this quote, another relation between food and religion, the eating taboo, named quizila in …show more content…

You arrive in Bahia and smell the palm oil and see acarajé. It is torture to me (…) The dietary restrictions and prescriptions have their foundation in myths, holy stories in which Orixas’s lives, adventures, wars, marriages and death are told. For instance, Omolu, the god who takes care of sick people, is known from the legend about the time he got chicken pots. His scars looked like small popcorn. Consequently, during the feats offered to Omolu, people are invited to rub popcorn on their bodies in order to be protected from diseases. Another example is the dish offered to Xango. Mythologically, Xango is known to be a might king in West Africa. His special meal is prepared with meat and pepper, used in order to augment the strength, and okras, utilized as decoration to form a crown around the dish, symbolizing his royalty. Furthermore, Oxum, the goddess of fertility and protector of pregnant women receives a holy dish garnished with eggs, which symbolizes the procreation. Additionally, Oxum is represented as a beautiful and vain woman, very fond of gold, which is also illustrated by the egg

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