r Release 2000/08/1
a high concentration of Spiritists whose beliefs threaten the estab-
lished Catholic dogmas. However, when he uses parapsychological
evidence of certain phenomena
as a
scientific backup
to establish
facts, when
this same evidence
is
still very controversial for many
parapsychologists,
his position
is untenablel Nonetheless,
his work
has
to be seen
in
the
cultural and
ideoMgical background from
which he has worked (Alvarado, 1991).
m
Anothefidimension of Brazilian psyclyal research is the work by
researcher^^ith
Spiritist
orientation, #ne example
is
that
con-
ducted by tha^engineer and psychical ^searcher Hernani Guimar-
aes Andrade, W^o in 1963 founded jfle Brazilian Institute of Psy-
chobiophysical I&earch (IBPP). Thjfname was chosen to make
it
clear that the Instmute intended toAxplore biological and physical
as well as purely p^kchical phenomena. One of the most significant
things about this InsCKute is that itfemerged from within the Spiritist
movement
(Playfair, 1075). Andfade, a
Spiritist himself, has con-
ducted
well-planned \d
detailed
investigations
of reincarnation
cases along the lines ofVn Swenson’s work. His poltergeist cases
are
particularly interestir|^-*r example,
the one published
in a
monograph entitled 0 PoUt^sMsi de Guarulhos (1984). These cases in-
volve very dramatic phenomiLa: apports, damage to furniture and
persons, apparitions of stra^Acreatures, and spontaneous fires. In
evaluating and interpretinmhelkses, Andrade leans toward the dis-
carnate agencies hypothesjf, sometimes with possible witchcraft com-
ponents (Alvarado,
1984J; Andr*e,
1984).
Also,
as Michel-Ange
Amorim (1990) has reimfked aboulAndrade’s interpretation of the
Andrade interprets tie different typtfkof occurrences present
in
this
case [the Guarulhos’#:ase] as supportiv«Df a Spiritist world view in the
Umbanda tradition/fhe Umbanda tradiBan has several million adher-
ents especially in
tlA bigger cities.
It combos African, Catholic, Indian,
and
Spiritist elemjfcts and may be characwized
as
a
relatively extra-
ecclesiastic of potaular Catholicism with anciaat Afro-Brazilian sects,
(p.
According to Amorim, not only does Andilde interpret his cases
along the SpiritiJt lines but he also accepts the^entral beliefs of this
religion, such af the existence of all sorts of spirits, like Exus and
Umulums.
He/also
believes
that
the
sorcerer \ able
to
practice
magic within jpe terreiros
(a place specialized in^aese procedures)
to harass victims according to Quimbanda laws (the mack magic side
of the Umb^da religion).
Concerning Andrade's interpretation of the aforementioned case
of Guarulhos, Amorim (1990) also states:
Approved For Release 2000/08/11
187
IA-RDP96-OO792ROOO^Q^^)0)g)3i77^ Ibero-American World
Thus, he
rejects the usual attributions of RSPK outbreaks to a living
agency. In defense of his position he points to the
fact that a psycho-
logical examination of Noemia [a participant in the case], the most prob-
able I^PK agent, was conducted by two psych»gists belonging to the
IBPP c^m. He states, “Mrs. Noemia didn’t dimlay any form of psychi-
cal abnmbiality that could justify viewing Ym as belonging to the ‘psy-
chokinetit^gent of a poltergeist’ categoiy^K conformity with the theo-
retical pattenk suggested by the currenwiypothesis.”
.
.
, He adds that
his macro-PK flkts ... of her capaciti<^Jwere also negative,
(p. 199)
It
is important,^owever,
to
pojfft out that to some extent the
cases investigated by^ndrade andmis associates seem to reflect the
influence of the belief^and cultiup of Brazilian society (Hess, 1990).
Andrade has also published on# of the
first systematic treatises of
parapsychology
in
Portimue
(1967). A
basic
introductcta
used in parapsychology,
it m
tistical model used in expefn
There are other groims
i
w entided
Parapsicologia
Experimental
fmanual
of the
quantitative method
Judes a detailed description of the sta-
mnts with ESP cards,
a^razil who are interested in a more
scientific approach to pwchical i^^arch. One of these groups
is the
recendy established dftlPSY-Insmito de Investigates Cientlficas
em Parapsicologia. Tms group aimsm pursue a different approach,
one separate from Mvt more traditioral approaches associated with
Spiritist or Cathojc orientations typic\of most Brazilian research
centers.
It receivjfl support from the University of Sao Francisco to
organize
its firsJ#onference in parapsychSogy, held in 1990, which
included
part#pants from
the Universit\as
well
as
researchers
from ArgendRa,
Brazil, and Mexico. The gkbup plans
to conduct
experimenter research that will be reported inlta new journal, called
Revista Brdmleira de Parapsicologia. According t\its president, Wel-
lington
afngari,
it
will include
abstracts
in EnMsh
as
well
as
in
SpanislwThe journal
will also include translation? from major ex-
periq^tal and
theoretical
articles
published
in
the
English-lan-
guage journals.
There are also other groups involved in parapsychology in Brazil
that are beyond the scope of this paper because of limitations of
space and because of our
initial goal of evaluating Brazilian para-
psychology from the perspective of its impact on the Ibero-Ameri-
can countries.
Argentina
For many years Argentina has been the top-ranking country in
Ibero-America in terms of experimental parapsychological research.
1A-RDP96-00792R000700290003-7