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The Journal of Parapsychology
a high concentration of Spiritists whose beliefs threaten the: esta
lished Catholic dogmas. However, when he uses parapsycho og
evidence of certain phenomena
as
a
scientific backup
to estab is
facts, when
this same evidence
is
still very controversial for many
parapsychologists, his position
is untenable. Nonetheless,
his wor
CS be seen
in
the
cultural and
ideological background from
which he has worked (Alvarado,
1991).
...
,
,
Another dimension of Brazilian psychical research 15
^
researchers
with
Spiritist
orientation. One example
is
that con
ducted by the engineer and psychical researcher Hernam
tnmar-
aes Andrade who in 1963 founded the Brazilian
Institute of Psy-
chobiophysical Research (IBPP). The name was chosen to make
i
clear thatf the Institute intended to explore biological and physical
as well as purely psychical phenomena. One of the most sigmfica
things about this Institute is that it emerged from wUhm the Spintis
movement
(Playfair,
1975). Andrade, a
Spiritist himself, has co
ducted
well-planned and
detailed
investigations
of
reincarnation
cases along the lines of Ian Stevenson’s work. His P«hergci^ cases
are
particularly interesting-for example
the one P^slm
monograph entitled 0 Poltergeist de Guarulhos (1984). These cases in
volve very dramatic phenomena: apports, damage to furmtur
and
persons, apparitions of strange creatures, and spontaneous fires. In
evaluating
P
and interpreting the cases, Andrade leans toward the dis
carnate agencies hypothesis, sometimes with possible witchcraft com-
ponents^ SLrado,,
1984b; Andrade,
1984).
Also,
as Michel-Ange
Amorim (1990) has remarked about Andrade’s interpretation of the
cases:
Andrade interprets the different types of occurrences present
in
this
case [the Guamlhos’s case] as supportive of a Spmust world view
“J
th
Umbanda tradition. The Umbanda tradition has several million adhe^
ents especially in the bigger cities. It combines African, Ca none —
and
Spiritist dements and may be characterized
as a
relatively extra-
ecclesiastic of popular Catholicism with ancient Afro-Brazilian sects,
(p.
199)
According to Amorim, not only does Andrade interpret his cases
along the Spiritist lines but he also accepts the central beliefs of
t
reliJon, such as the existence of
all sorts of spirtts
ike Exus a
Umulums. He
also
believes
that
the
sorcerer
practice
magic within the terreiros (a place specialized in these procedures)
to harass victims according to Quimbanda laws (the black magic side
of the Umbanda religion).
Concerning Andrade’s interpretation
of Guarulhos, Amorim (1990) also states
n of the aforementioned case
proved For Release 2003/09/10
:
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:
Parapsychology in the 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 cue].
most prob-
able RSPK agent, was conducted by two psychologists belongi
g
IBPP team. He states, “Mrs. Noemia didn’t display any form of psychi-
cal abnormality that could justify viewing her as belonging to the
psy-
chokinetic agent of a poltergeist’ category in conformity with the theo-
retical patterns suggested by the current hypothesis.
.
.
. He adds that
his macro-PR tests ... of her capacities were also negative, (p. 199)
It
is important, however,
to point out that to some extent the
cases investigated by Andrade and his associates seem to reflect the
influence of the beliefs and culture of Brazilian society (Hess, 1990).
Andrade has also published one of the
first systematic treatises
parapsychology
in
Portuguese
entitled
Parapsicologia
Experimental
(1967)
A
basic
introductory manual of the
quantitative method
used in parapsychology,
it includes a detailed description of the sta-
tistical model used in experiments with ESP cards.
There are other groups in Brazil who are interested m a more
scientific approach to psychical research. One of these groups is
recently established ECLIPSY-Instituto de Investigates Cientificas
em Parapsicologia. This group aims to pursue a different approach
one separate from the more traditional approaches associated with
Spiritist or Catholic orientations typical of most Brazilian researc
centers.
It received support from the University o
Sao Franc,Co to
organize its first conference in parapsychology, held m 1990, which
included
participants from
the
University
as
well
as
researcher
from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. The group plans
to condu
experimental research that will be reported in its new journal caUed
Revista Brasileira de Parapsicologia. According to
its president, Wel-
lington
Zangari,
it
will include
abstracts
in English
as
well
as m
Spanish. The journal
will also include translations from major ex-
perimental and
theoretical
articles
puoiisned
in me —
gU
Th
J
ere
r
a
n
re
1S
alSo other groups involved in parapsychology in Brazil
that are beyond the scope of this paper because of limitations o
space and because of our
initial goal of evaluating Brazilian pa
psychology from the perspective of its impact on the Ibero-Amen
can countries.
For many 7