Diego de Oxóssi - Traditional Brazilian Black Magic: The Secrets of the Kimbanda Magicians

me disseram que a minha Casa ia cair,

People said my Temple was going down,

Mas ela de madeira que no d cupim!

But its made of wood that doesnt get termites!

Foi o Seo 7 que me deu,

It was Mr. Seven Crossroads who gave it to me,

S ele pode destruir!

So hes the only one who can destroy it!

Nela Exu Rei e j ganhou coroa,

In my Temple Eshu is crowned King,

A sua gargalhada no toa!

Thats why he laughs and sings!

Foreword

JOO BATISTA LIBANIO, a Brazilian Jesuit and doctor of theology, says that theology is the science that studies faithnot the faith of others but the theologians own faith. Therefore, it is almost necessary that the theologian be an experiencer of a religion, and its this religion that he or she will think about and research. Contrary to what some may think, this area of knowledge is not dedicated just to Christianity. Each religious tradition has its own theology, and this theology is born from the observation of ritual elements, from experiences with the sacred, and from the analysis of sacred stories, songs, and prayers. Theology analyzes all elements of a particular religion, including its history and philosophy, to discover what purpose God has chosen for us through it. For if religion is the form that men have created to approach God, theology is Gods way of reaching us, to paraphrase Libanio.

The theology of African-origin traditions, such as Batuque and Candombl, first arose timidly but is now rising fiercely and has, through the commitment of some Brazilian researchers, gained strength. Intense attacks by fundamentalist segments of society on these religionsclassifying them as demonic or primitive in a demonstration of ignorance and racismhave galvanized this interest and research. Believers in and practitioners of these religions have been stimulated to search for knowledge, many daring to enter academia and to graduate with degrees in law, history, sociology, pedagogy, psychology, religion sciences, and philosophy, as well as theology, with the intention of analyzing elements of these African-origin traditions.

We are still a long way from building in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, a real school of theology for African-origin religious traditions (or Afro-theology, as I have defined it), in the mold of other religious traditions, but we are already offering training courses in this area whose theoretical references are immersed in and guided by Molefi Kete Asante, an African American professor and philosopher, and his book Afrocentricity.

The College of Umbanda Theology in So Paulo is the first and only college in Brazil dedicated to non-Christian religions; this school of thought focuses on analyzing African Brazilian religions and contributes much to academia and the understanding of African faiths as a whole. Despite these two initiatives in Rio Grande do Sul and So Paulo, there is still a lack of theological reflection on what we call marginal spirits: compadres and comadres, catios, the Eshus and Pombagiras. In this book, Diego de Oxssi has worked to fill that gap.

I met Diego through Orkut, an online social networking service that no longer exists. It has been more than ten years since he came to my house to consult If divination and find out what path he should take in his life. Seeing how far he has progressed, I am glad to know that he followed the advice of rnml, the god of wisdom in Yoruba mythology. Diego brings an academic approach to his subject, with careful research and documented sources, which guarantees that his work is highly reliable. In particular, the way he traces the history of religious practices deserves a highlight. His interpretation of the slavery of the Eshu brings elements perhaps never before considered.

In an unpretentious and didactic way, Diego points out several ways for theological reflection on the Eshus. In the chapter on the relations between thers E s u and the spirit-deity Eshu, the author produces a true Kimbanda theology. Also worthy of note are his reflections on the relationship between Eshu and the Judeo-Christian devil.

In this book you will find precision and thoroughness: the author provides excellent historical-theological material on the Kimbanda tradition. He presents a logical line of thought from history to theology, bringing to light elements not discussed until today, which makes this book a unique contribution to the literature on African Brazilian religions.

HENDRIX SILVEIRA BB HENDRIX DE RNML BBLRS AT IL SE R S WRE

Hendrix Silveira has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in theology from EST College and is a theological adviser to the African-religious Peoples Council of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Acknowledgments

TO MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS who accompanied, supported, and often helped me to get here and who, even without sharing the same faith and without understanding the nights awakened by the sound of the drums, always believed with all their hearts when I told them to trust Eshu.

To Me Ieda do Ogum, my black mother, and to Eshu King of 7 Crossroads, the Legbara Eshu who taught me everything I know about Kimbanda and who took me by the hand and told me come when everything else seemed to collapse. As the saying goes, he gave me the porridge and the beltthe good and the bad.

To Eshu 7 Facadas, my compadre, my drunken rascal, and my eternal guardian, for everythingfor the Kingdom, for the world, for existing in my life!

And, no less important, to my dear friend, teacher, and babalorix Hendrix de Orumilaia, who kindly prefaced the Portuguese edition of the book, fully maintained in this second edition, and who, with his words, gave me the encouragement and courage to follow the paths of the orishas to my destiny.

About the African and Portuguese Vocabulary Used in This Book

AFRICAN BRAZILIAN RELIGIONS have been studied and codified by their practitioners for some years now. Fortunately, many of these practitioners have attained academic degrees, until then dominated by a white, Christian elite who did not accept the rise of black people to the chairs of universities. A great effort is being made to qualify the sources of research, and a process of reafricanization of rites and myths has been happening in a unique way that contributes greatly to the preservation and valorization of African culture and its influence on the ethnolinguistic formation of the Brazilian people.

For this reason, words of African originmostly Yoruba, EweFon, and Kimbunduare given in this book in the original or commonly accepted form used in academic studies that have preceded this work. They are marked in either bold or bold italics as a way of highlighting and encouraging the continued study of these languages, while roman italics are used for Portuguese words and terms created by the author. These African languages are tonal, with differing tones or pitches used to convey meaning. The following list compares the original African terms with the Portuguese variants of most of the African words presented in this book, with definitions and translations of the words provided in parentheses. Emphasized or accented letters are underlined.