CatholicSaints, African Gods,blackmasks andwhite heads:Tracing thehistory of somereligious festivals inBahia ROGER SANSI ROCA The festivals ofBonfim inSalvadorde Bahiaand Boa MorteinCachoeira haveundergone substantial changesinthelastcentury. Originally popular Catholic celebrations, in recent decades theyhave become publicly associatedwithAfro-Brazilian cultureand are now touristattractions enjoyingextensive media coverage.The argumentthatfollowsis that thisprocessof 'Afro-Brazilianisation' cannotbe interpreted onlyas the emergenceofa previously 'hidden' Candomblébackground, butrather as a social transformation both in formand substance,in the images and valuesofthesefestivals. I willpresentthisprocessbydescribing the changesinvalueandvisibility ofCatholicreligious images(theimagesof NossoSenhordo Bonfim and NossaSenhorada Boa Morte),fromtheir centralrolein thesecelebrations to today'smarginal position, whilethe organizers (thebaianasofBonfim, theSisters ofBoa Morte)havemoved to centre-stage as representatives and representations1 ofAfro-Brazilian culture, symbols extensively reproducedbythemassmedia,and also in art.Thistransformation invisibility andcentrality, from Catholicimageto Afro-Brazilian cultural icon,willform thecoreofmyargument. Thesyncretist politics ofNossoSenhor doBonfim Nosso Senhorde Bonfimis unquestionably one of themostimportant symbols ofthecity ofSalvador, andthefesta ofBonfim isitsmostimportant celebration besidesCarnival. The hymn ofBonfimis thepopularhymn ofBahia; soccerteamsand politicians thanktheLord ofBonfim when they winsince,accordingtoa popularsaying, he is thetruegovernor of Bahia.2Crowning the calm and scenicneighbourhoods ofRibeiraand Montserrate, many legendssurround thehill,thechurch, theimage,and thefesta ofBonfim. Theystemfroma long history thatbegan in 1745, whenafter surviving a shipwreck, Teodózio Rodriguesde Faria,Captain of the PortugueseArmy, paid a promessa bybringing fromSetúbal,in Portugal, an imageofBomJesusSofredor, undertheinvocation ofNosso Senhordo Bonfim.By 1750, theimagehad gatheredan important lay 1 Following Gell, I would say that 'theideasof'representing' (likea picture) and'representing' (likean ambassador) are distinct, butnonethelesslinked'. Alfred Gell,ArtandAgency: An Anthropological Theory (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998),p.98. OrdepSerra, Aguas doRei(RiodeJaneiro: Vozes, 1994),p. 230. THE HISTORY OF SOME RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS IN BAHIA 183 brotherhood ofdevotion, whichstarted tobuilda churchand sanctuary fortheimage.3 The building isostentatiously rich, thanks tothegenerous donations ofthedevotees. The famous fitas ofBonfim arementioned for thefirst timein 1807:tissuestrings thathad touchedtheimageand that thepilgrims takeas mementos. Withthesestrings, thefameofBonfim begantospreadthroughout Brazil.4 TheimageofBonfim wasonly releasedfrom itssanctuary for processions in truly exceptionaltimes:first, in theWarof Independencein 1822, whenthecity wasunderPortuguese siege.In 1842 a seriousdrought was afflicting theregion.Thelegendsaysthatwhentheprocessionwiththe imageofBonfimreachedthevicinity ofthechurchofSão Joaquim,it begantorain.In 1855,theimagewasalsoreleasedfora procession when thecity wasplaguedbycholera.5 Finally Bonfim becamethepatronsaint ofthecity ofBahia.In thetwentieth century, theprocessions oftheimage had morepoliticalthanreligious justifications: commemoration of the independenceofBahia,in 1923,on theordersofthestategovernor; the bicentennial ofthechurch(1945), and,mostrecently, thevisit ofPope JohnPaul II in 1980. From1772,thedateestablished forthefesta ofBonfim wasthesecond Sunday after Epiphany (6January) .Thefesta consisted ofa novena - nine daysofmassand prayer tothedevotedimage,culminating intheSunday mass.Butsincevery early on,a popularLavagem doBonfim begantotake place outsidethedoorsofthechurch, besidesthenovena. The Lavagem followedan old Portuguesetradition of cleaningthe churchof the saintand the saintitself,as paymentof a promise. Accordingto Bastide,7the Lavagem began when a Portuguesesoldier 3 CarlosOtt,EvoluçãodasArtes Plásticas nasIgrejas doBonfim, Boqueirão eSaúde(Salvador:UFBACEB ,1979),p. 23. 4 Before theendoftheeighteenth century, itsfamehadspreadtoGoiás(Ott,Evolução, p. do). 5EduardoAlfredo MoraisGuimarães, Religião Popular, Festae o Sagrado, Masters Thesis, Universidade Federal da Bahia,1QQ4, pp.^-^8 According to Ott(Evolução, p. 43), theFestado Bonfim wasoriginally dedicated to São Gonçalo doAmarante. Intheearly nineteenth century, theimage anddevotion ofSão Gonçalo do Amarante wereadmitted intothechurch ofBonfim. São Gonçalowasa wedding saint, very popular amongst young maidens trying tofinda husband. The devotees ofSão Gonçalo organized a very popularcelebration justbefore thefesta ofBonfim, a celebration thatwas deemed scandalous and'diabolical' bytheclergy ofthecity (Guimarães, Religião popular, pp.7890 ) for itserotic connotations, asinthis hymn ofprayer toSão GonçalodeAmarante: 'Gonçalo theSaintdeserved/ tobe on earth yourlover/ I too,with lively faith / I wanttobe likewise' ('Mereceu GonçaloSanto/ Sernomundo Vosso Amante/ Eu também ComVivafé/Espero Ser semelhante') (Ott, Evolução, p. 43). According toOtt,thecelebration ofSão Gonçalobecame the festa daLavagem ofBonfim. Wecannot really justify this statement. However, itisclearthat, even when thecelebrations ofSãoGonçalo disappeared, the festa ofBonfim inearly January had assumed a much broader scopethantheNovenas ofthelaybrotherhood ' RogerBastide, Images du nordeste mystique ennoir etblanc(Paris:PandoraEditions, 1978 (1945)),p. 276. 184 ROGER SANSI ROCA promisedto clean thechurchofBonfimafter surviving theParaguayan War (1865-70). This action had enormousrepercussions, and soon afterwards a mass of devoteesfollowedhis example,evolvinginto a procession ofpeople carrying waterfortheLavagem. After thecleansing, thefesta extendeduntilafter nightfall inthesquareinfront ofthechurch (thelargo), with boothssellingfoodand drinks, and dancing.. . Weknowthatby1860 theLavagem doBonfim wasalready very popular. The religiousauthorities of the citywere concerned,but the priest...