page_title: Candomblé
hierarchical_section_title: Candomblé
caption_attribution_description: Baianas na Lavagem da Esquina do Padre, festa típica, folclore, Caetité, Bahia, Brazil
context_page_description: Candomblé is an Afro-Brazilian religion that developed in Brazil during the early 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of the movement.
  Candomblé is monotheistic, involving the veneration of sprits known as orishas who work as intermediaries for a supreme being. These are often identified both as Yoruban Orishas as well as Roman Catholic saints. Various myths and stories are told about these orishas. As an oral tradition, it does not have holy scriptures. Practitioners of Candomblé believe in a Supreme Creator called Oludumaré, who is served by lesser deities, which are called Orishas. Every practitioner is believed to have their own tutelary orisha, which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. Music and dance are important parts of Candomblé ceremonies, since the dances enable worshippers to become possessed by the orishas. In the rituals, participants make offerings like minerals, vegetables, and animals.
context_section_description: Candomblé (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɐ̃dõmˈblɛ], "dance in honour of the gods") is an Afro-Brazilian religion that developed in Brazil during the early 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa and the Roman Catholic form of Christianity. There is no central authority in control of the movement.
  Candomblé is monotheistic, involving the veneration of sprits known as orishas who work as intermediaries for a supreme being. These are often identified both as Yoruban Orishas as well as Roman Catholic saints. Various myths and stories are told about these orishas. As an oral tradition, it does not have holy scriptures. Practitioners of Candomblé believe in a Supreme Creator called Oludumaré, who is served by lesser deities, which are called Orishas. Every practitioner is believed to have their own tutelary orisha, which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. Music and dance are important parts of Candomblé ceremonies, since the dances enable worshippers to become possessed by the orishas. In the rituals, participants make offerings like minerals, vegetables, and animals. 
  Candomblé does not include the duality of good and evil; each person is required to fulfill their destiny to the fullest, regardless of what that is.
  Candomblé developed among Afro-Brazilian communities amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It arose through the blending of the traditional religions brought to Brazil by enslaved West and Central Africans, the majority of them Yoruba, Fon, and Bantu, and the Roman Catholic teachings of the Portuguese colonialists who then controlled the area. 
  Between 1549 and 1888, the religion developed in Brazil, influenced by the knowledge of enslaved African priests who continued to teach their religion, their culture, and language. In addition, Candomblé absorbed elements of Roman Catholicism and includes indigenous American traditions.
  Candomblé is practiced primarily in Brazil, and is also practiced in other countries, including Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Venezuela, having as many as two million followers.
caption: Candomblé practitioners in Bahia
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