Batuque de Porto Alegre

The Batuque is an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and is similar to other Afro-Brazilian rituals such as Xangô in Recife (Pernambouc State) or Candomblé from Bahia. Originally, terreiro (the name of Batuque's temple) was found in the south 150 to 160 years ago by an emancipated woman slave who came from northeast Brazil, but precise data on Batuque's origins in Porto Alegre are not known. Batuque is characterized by its strong syncretism with the Catholic religion, with each orixá (gods in the Batuque; there are 12 main orixás) having at least one corresponding Catholic saint. Everyone in Batuque claims Catholic identity (through baptism), being Afro-Brazilian and Catholic at the same time. Although it was traditionally a Black religion, it is nowadays practiced by White people too and has expanded beyond Brazilian frontiers into the United States and Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal, France) and Latin America (Venezuela, Paraguay), especially Argentina and Uruguay. Batuque is associated with Umbanda and Quimbanda, other Afro-Brazilian religions commonly practiced together in the same terreiros in Porto Alegre and abroad. Social scientists talk about a religious continuum to qualify this phenomenon.

Batuque is based on three main rituals: (1) possession by gods (orixás), (2) animal sacrifices, and (3) divination (by cowries). Wealth, love, and money, that is, intramundane interests, are the more frequent motivations to go to a terreiro. There are several degrees of commitment with Batuque practice. You can enter the terreiro as a simple customer by consulting individually the ter-reiro priest (problems are identified through divination, then they are solved doing a trabalho—an offering and/or a healing ritual), come to public and collective ceremonies where “spectators” consult gods embodied in initiates, or become initiated. By starting an initiating process, you become a member of the god family. Priests are called pai-de-santo (“godfather”) or mãe-de-santo (“godmother”) and have their godchildren (filhos e filhas-de-santo), sisters and brothers, between them.

Batuque, an initiatic and particular religion, became transnational for several reasons. Without centralized organization, Batuque crosses frontiers by creating strong interpersonal links, giving birth to local communitarian identities. On the other hand, it is a fulfilling corporal practice where everyone is protected by a personal god (each initiate has his or her own orixá). Each orixá is represented by specific symbols (colors, objects) and determinate fields of power related to natural elements (fire, storm, wind, etc.), the human body (blood, hearing, speaking, motherhood, etc.), and human activities (justice, work, etc.). Closed to contemporary ecological spirituality, Batuque also allows (compared with Catholicism) a more direct and personal relationship with the divine, not mediated by religious authority.