Spirit Possession and Healing Cult among the Brasilian Umbanda

Abstract

million adherents especially in the bigger Cities. It may be characterized as an extraecclesiastic consolidation of popular catholicism within the vacant forms of ancient Afro -Brasilian sects. The central belief is the existence of all sorts of spirits; a central task is to give them the opportunity temporarily to take ho ld of human bodies. There may be a hundred thousand or more trained incorporation-mediums in Brazil by now, that is, people who in certain in stances believe, and are thought by others, to be spirits. The Umbanda groups meet once to three times a week, mostly at night and in their Centers, which resemble Catholic chape ls. The groups consist of ten to 50 or more spirit mediums and of fewer assistants. All the different sessions are open to the public. Pass ive believers prefer by far those sessions in which they are given the poss ibility to enter into direct contact with the embodied spirits. There are, roughly speaking, five categories of spi rits called and embodied in Umbanda: deities of nature (who are seen in clos e connection to Catholic saints), old people, good and bad people o f middle age, and children. All of them show a semi-standardized beha vior. Personally known dead are seldom or never called. There is no cult session at all without the presenc e of embodied spirits. The priest himself always is a medium and he leads the group and the sessions mainly through his different spirit roles. Every de veloped medium is the 'horse', as it is called, of at least one spirit of each category, generally of more. Mediums are free to incorporate any spirit , male or female of any category - or in the language of Umbanda: th e spirits are free to choose any medium. Umbanda does not know any organisation or leadership above the level of the thousands of cult-groups. Groups form around certain priests