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Places of worship

Cowry shells, tools for divination in °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé, were formerly used as currency in parts of Africa ©

Worship services used to be held in the homes of the enslaved. There are reports of dancing ceremonies taking place in Rio de Janeiro, and laws being made that forbade any person from attending these ceremonies. Anyone caught at such places were given from fifty to one hundred lashes.

There is an important distinction between sacred and profane places for °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôécists. In profane places, ordinary everyday life occurs; work, play, relaxation and eating.

Sacred places are called terreiro or temples. They are buildings with indoor and outdoor spaces, and special areas for the gods. Worshippers wear clean clothes and splash water on themselves before they enter to rid themselves of the uncleanliness of the world.

Followers go to terreiro for a number of reasons. Many go to have their fortunes told. To do this, a priest or priestess casts cowry shells and interprets the pattern in which they fall. Others go for months to immerse themselves in the spiritual and become possessed by their orixa.

The first official temple was founded at the beginning of the 19th century in Salvador, Bahia in Brazil.

Women in °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé

Women are very important in the °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé faith. Services are usually led by women, called 'mothers of the holy one', and it is the women who are responsible for ensuring the training of future priestesses.

Dance during worship

Worship takes the form of specially choreographed dances and hymns. The dance is a call to the spirits. At its height, the worshipper's orixa temporarily possesses the dancer's body and he or she enters into a trance like state and dances alone. Finally the gods are expelled. This is done by singing the hymns again, but in reverse order starting with the last hymn.

Dance of Ogum, one of the fiercest deities ©

African dancing was well known to the slave owners of South America. Even though the dance as a form of worship was forbidden, the enslaved would still dance in their free time in the fields.

These dances became important symbols of rebellion. Their rhythmic movements and rocking bodies belied the truth behind the dances. The enslaved Africans practised a form of martial art within the dances, seamlessly moving from attacking positions to defensive ones, learning to quickly gauge how to react to their opponent. This dance is called capoeira and has become increasingly popular in the West as an art form.

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