Tambor de Mina, syncretic Afro-Brazilian spirit possession religion. Two cult members (filhas de santo) in trance are covered with a ritual cloth
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 Orishás, 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 Two “filhas de santo” (cult members) in trance, possessed by a spirit, are covered with an embroidered ritual Terreiro Dois Irmãos Belém, Pará.
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Photo credit: © Jacques Jangoux / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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