Abstract
ABSTRACTThe cult of María Lionza is an Afro-Latin American religious practice originating from Venezuela in which spirit possession plays a central role. The spiritual pantheon of the cult is made up of a large number of spirits, among which we find the Malandros, that is, souls of former Venezuelan delinquents. These entities are very often called by believers either for sidestepping the law or for solving legal and bureaucratic problems. In recent years, many followers of this religious practice have migrated to other countries, where they often have to face new kinds of issues with the law. In this article, I analyse the current work of Malandros – and other spirits of this cult – in judiciary trials and bureaucratic issues in Barcelona (Spain). I discuss how these spirits and other deities intervene in what some followers of the cult call ‘legal rituals’ (rituales de ley). These rituals enable us to recursively rethink some key concepts of anthropology – such as ‘evidence’ – while shedding light on the intimate relation between religion, migration and the law.
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