Umbanda practitioners at a centro in Rio de Janeiro
Umbanda (Portuguese pronunciation:[ũˈbɐ̃dɐ]) is a religion that emerged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1920s. Deriving largely 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 termed centros or terreiros, the followers of which are called Umbandistas. The religion is broadly divided between White Umbanda, which is closer to Spiritism, and Africanized Umbanda, which is closer to Candomblé.
A monotheistic religion, Umbanda believes in a single God who is distant from humanity. Beneath this entity are powerful non-human spirits called orixás; in White Umbanda these are viewed as divine energies or forces of nature, while in African-oriented forms they are seen as West African deities and are offered animal sacrifices. The emissaries of the orixás are the pretos velhos and caboclos, spirits of enslaved Africans and of indigenous Brazilians respectively, and these are the main entities dealt with by Umbandistas. At Umbandist rituals, spirit mediums sing and dance in 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 system of reincarnation according to the law of karma. The religion's ethical systems emphasise charity and social fraternity. Umbandistas also seek to reverse harm that they attribute to practitioners of a related tradition, Quimbanda.
Roman Catholicism was the dominant religion in early 20th-century Brazil, but sizeable minorities practiced Afro-Brazilian traditions or Spiritism, a French version of Spiritualism developed by Allan Kardec. Around the 1920s, various groups may have been combining Spiritist and Afro-Brazilian practices, forming the basis of Umbanda. The most important group was that established by Zélio Fernandino de Moraes and those around him in Niterói. He had been involved in Spiritism but disapproved of the negative attitude that many Spiritists held towards contact with pretos velhos and caboclos. Reflecting Umbanda's growth, in 1939 de Moraes formed an Umbandist federation and in 1941 held the first Umbandist congress. Umbanda gained increased social recognition and respectability amid the military dictatorship of 1964 to 1985, despite growing opposition from both the Roman Catholic Church and Pentecostal groups. Since the 1970s, Umbanda has seen some decline due to the resurgent popularity of Candomblé.
In Brazil, hundreds of thousands of people formally identify as Umbandistas, but the number who attend Umbandist ceremonies, sometimes on an occasional basis, is in the millions. In its heyday of the 1960s and 1970s, Umbanda was estimated to have between 10 and 20 million followers in Brazil. Reflecting a universalist attitude, practitioners are typically permitted to also follow other religious traditions. Umbanda is found primarily in urban areas of southern Brazil although has spread throughout the country and to other parts of the Americas.
Umbanda (Portuguese pronunciation: [ũˈbɐ̃dɐ]) is a religion that emerged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1920s. Deriving largely from Spiritism, it also...
connotations. Historically, the term Quimbanda has been used by practitioners of Umbanda, a religion established in Brazil during the 1920s, to characterise the...
dedicated to Exu. In the syncretic religion of Umbanda, Exu may have a different meaning. Usually in Umbanda Exu is not considered a single Deity, but many...
the basis for a number of religions in the New World, notably Santería, Umbanda, Trinidad Orisha, and Candomblé. Yoruba religious beliefs are part of Itàn...
islands) is an Orisha, a deity of roads in the religions of Santería, Winti, Umbanda, Quimbanda, Holy Infant of Atocha, and Candomblé. Elegua is known as Èṣù-Ẹlẹ́gbára...
for most Afro-Brazilian religious traditions, including Candomblé and Umbanda. In a more limited sense, macumba is used only to characterise traditions...
Catholicism 28% Protestantism 12% no religion 5% other religions Spiritism Umbanda Candomblé, etc. Demonym(s) Brazilian Government Federal presidential republic...
Rational Culture (Cultura Racional) is a Brazilian UFO religion derived from Umbanda, founded in the mid-1930s in the city of Rio de Janeiro by the medium Manuel...
confused with the patipembas used in Palo, nor the pontos riscados used in Umbanda and Quimbanda, as these are separate African religions. Possible origins...
the most common African influenced Ritual is Almas e Angola, which is an Umbanda like a ritual. Nowadays, there are over 70 "terreiros" (temples) in Florianópolis...
plant plays an important part in the Afro-Brazilian syncretic religion Umbanda, also representing the orisha Ogum (Ògún), as Ogum is syncretized with...
The mythology or religion of most cultures incorporate a god of death or, more frequently, a divine being closely associated with death, an afterlife,...
as varied as [Haitian Vaudoo ] , Santería, Candomblé, Trinidad Orisha, Umbanda, and Oyotunji, among others. The concept of òrìṣà is similar to those of...
the Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda. It is considered sacred in Candomblé and Umbanda. The main instrument in Candomblé is the drum...
Sebastian. George is also revered in several Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Umbanda, where it is syncretized in the form of the orisha Ogun. However, the connection...
Pombajira is the name of an Afro-Brazilian spirit evoked by practitioners of Umbanda and Quimbanda in Brazil. She is the consort of Exu, who is the messenger...
Informally, in the tradition of the Afro-Brazilian syncretic religion Umbanda, Sebastian is often associated with Oxossi, especially in the state of...
20th century. The first took place in Niterói, with the establishment of Umbanda, traditionally initiated by the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas (1908),...
throughout South America; some examples are Santo Daime, Candomblé, and Umbanda. Crypto-Jews or Marranos, conversos, and Anusim were an important part...
through their body. The concept of spirit possession is also found in Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian folk religion. According to tradition, one such possessing...
Africa developed into new world religions in Brazil called Candomblé, Umbanda, Xango, and Macumba. Historian Erika Edwards writes of the slave trade...
their new moral identity. In contrast, Afro-Brazilian religions such as Umbanda and Candomblé provide tools to improve their economic success within prostitution...
practiced in the Americas, such as Santeria, Candomble, Vodun, Lucumi, Umbanda, and Macumba. Iranian religions are ancient religions whose roots predate...
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