English Interview: Iya Omindarewa

Iya Omindarewa’s story is interesting, being a non-Brazilian priestess who ran a terreiro in Rio for many years.  This short documentary doesn’t tell her entire story, but takes the viewer on a short tour through her terreiro.

Inside a Terreiro: Casa de Òsùmàrè

Here’s another look inside of a terreiro.  Fusion.net visited the Casa de Òsùmàrè in Bahia to film this short documentary about Candomblé.  In English, some background is provided about the religion’s survival in Brazil during political persecution.

Understanding Umbanda

I’ve been coming across more and more English language material about Afro-Brazilian religions lately.  Here’s a short clip about Umbanda.  

Brazil Week 2014: Mulheres de Axé

If you’re planning to attend, leave a comment below and we’ll look out for each other 😉

Candomblé Terreiro – Temple Talk

A terreiro (te-hair-o) is a religious temple where Candomblé adherents go for worship. Terreiros are both large and small, urban and suburban, luxurious and modest.  The oldest terreiros in Brazil are well over 100 years old. Initiations and other rituals, as well as feasts or drummings take place in the terreiro. Unlike in other Orisha traditions,

Candomblé Documentary: English subtitles

I came across this documentary teaser of ‘Ylê Aganã Asé Laburê’, based in São Paulo, Brazil. The primary reason I’m posting it is because it is one of the very few clips on Candomblé with English subtitles. I don’t have an opinion one way or the other about the actual content of the video. The

Mae Stella: Which Orixa Rules the Year? a translation

Mae Stella: Which Orixa rules the year? By Maria Stella de Azevedo Santos http://www.geledes.org.br/em-debate/colunistas/12516-mae-stella-que-orixa-rege-o-ano Translated by Melissa McHenry The objective of this article is to bring forth clarity. I will try to take an issue that comes up every year and make it understandable. The press runs stories, and people inquire of one another, or

I want…but I don’t want…

I know that it’s been a really long time since I’ve last posted. I have to admit – I haven’t had much to say. But, over the last few months I’ve gotten some very interesting emails from people with questions about Candomblé. This post isn’t a criticism of people’s questions, but rather an analysis of

Candomblé, Umbanda e Macumba…Oh My!

There seem to be many conflicting view points as to what these religions are, and that’s always bound to happen when a religion or tradition is oral rather than prescribed in a book. Last summer I met another Brazil enthusiast who spent most of her time in Bahia. Somehow we started talking about religion, and

Color in Candomblé

The other day I received a message on MySpace from a gentleman who wanted to know if I could refer him to any “all Black houses” of Candomblé in Brazil, preferably in Bahia. My response to him was that if he wanted an “all Black house” that his best bet might be seeking a house

Religious Persecution

A few months ago I went to a townhall meeting to discuss issues across the Orisa traditions in NYC. During the discussion someone asked why there weren’t more olorisa visible in public? Why had we yet, after so many years in this city, to build any monuments or make any permanent artistic installations? (I was

Candomblé Documentary in English

This is a great clip of a documentary that discusses some of the dancing and drumming of Candomblé.

Iyawo for 7 years…what?!?!?

by Melissa I’ve been meeting more and more people lately who have been asking about our period of Iyawo in Candomblé. More often than not people already have the mind frame of Lukumi when they think “Iyawo,” and say things like they could never be a Iyawo for 7 years. There are lots of differences between a