Experiences with an Afro-Brazilian religion,
Nov 10, 2006

Lecture, Afro-Brazilian religion

Wednesday, November 15, 5pm

Teatro Santa Ana, Insurgentes 25, 50 pesos

Many years ago, while working in Brazil, Nancy Dobbs was told by a surgeon that she needed to have some bone tumors on her knees removed because they might be cancerous. This urgency led her to explore a version of a widespread Afro-Brazilian religion known as Candomble.

Most educated people will not readily admit that they believe in Candomble, but very few will go against the practices of this religion. For instance, in the forested countryside outside the city of Rio de Janeiro, one frequently comes upon an offering to the gods consisting of a white tablecloth set with a bowl containing a few chicken legs, perhaps a half a dozen cigars, and a bottle of cachaca (raw, unaged rum). No one will touch these offerings, no matter how hungry or eager for a drink they may be; in fact, it is said that not even stray dogs will disturb these offerings. 

Dobbs was eager to contact someone in the Candomble world and thought the situation of the tumors on her knees might give her an “in.” Among her colleagues at work was a woman who wore a mysterious necklace consisting of a string of miniature skulls, which Dobbs thought might have some Candomble implications. It turned out that this woman had an Ethiopian boyfriend who was indeed connected to a Candomble cult house and who was happy to introduce Dobbs to the leader of the group, Mai (mother) Nitinha. 

The cult house was located in a remote slum area of Rio, far from where she lived. Dobbs’s friend Graciela had previously told her to say nothing to the cult leader or to her boyfriend, Milton, about what she was concerned about in order to discover whether the leader could discover it on her own. During the long drive, Milton told Dobbs not to be afraid. Since it hadn’t occurred to her to be afraid, this advice served only to make her nervous.

The interview took place in a tiny room furnished with two chairs facing a table. In the corner were a number of crude stone figures of the god Exu. Mai Nitinha took her place at the table and started to roll out a number of cowry shells, perhaps a dozen in all. After three or four rolls, she said, “Your doctor has told you may have something seriously wrong with you, but you don’t. You should not worry.” She made two or three more rolls, carefully examined the shells again, and announced, “But your husband is very sick!”

Both her forecasts were absolutely correct. Dobbs’s bone tumors turned to be entirely benign, and her husband was diagnosed a few days later with hepatitis and spent the next six weeks in bed. As a result, Dobbs started an extensive study of Candomble and a wrote a doctoral dissertation on the relationship between the practices of a Candomble cult house and modern psychotherapy.

Proceeds from the talk go to Jovenes Adelante.