Tambor de Mina, syncretic Afro-Brazilian spirit possession religion. A "filha de santo" (cult member) goes into a trance, possessed by a spirit.


Tambor de Mina (popularly batuque) is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian spirit possession religion that developed among African slaves (with roots mostly in Benin and Nigeria) and their descendants in the State of Maranhão, incorporating elements from catholicism, from indigenous pagelância (shamanism), and from spiritism. Entities worshipped include Voduns and Oriyshás, Gentils, and Caboclos. The Orishá Exú (Yoruba) or Legba (Fon) have a distinct, however indispensable, cult, as they are intermediaries between humans and the divinities and as guardians of the temples. Tambor de Mina arrived in Belém (State of Pará) around 1890, brought by the "Mãe de Santo" (cult leader) Mãe Josinha who founded the terreiro "Dois Irmãos" in the Guamá neighborhood of Belém in 1890 (Mãe Doca, also from Maranhão, may have preceded her). Mãe Josinha was succeeded by Mãe Amelinha, who became a leading personality in Afro-Brasilian religions in Belém in the 20th century. Mãe Amelinha, in turn, was succeeded by her daughter Mãe Lulu and, since 2019, by her granddaughter Mãe Heloisa, the current cult leader (as of 2023) ). This picture: a filha de santo (cult member) is in trance, possessed by a the terreiro (place of worship) "Dois Irmãos" in Belé


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Photo credit: © Jacques Jangoux / Alamy / Afripics
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