Mirror/Fan (Abebé) for the Candomblé Goddess Oxum

Fan/Mirror for the Candomblé Goddess Iemanjá

Fan/Mirror of the Goddess Oxum

Dance Wand (Ibirí) of the Goddess of Death, Nanã, #2 (Crafted by Antônio Carlos dos Santos)

Brazilian Candomblé and Umbanda

Brazil’s Atlantic coast from Belém do Pará in the north to Rio de Janeiro in the south is an Afro-Atlantic civilization, built and animated by its African-descended majority. While most of this massive region’s inhabitants are also Roman Catholic, many also practice African-inspired religions, such as Candomblé, centered in the city of Salvador da Bahia, […]

On Healing in the Afro-Atlantic Religions

Does religion teach us how to avoid suffering, or how to suffer and transcend? The Afro-Atlantic religions are often sought out by those who are suffering, and offer a philosophy of healing the whole person, with less regard for the Western dichotomy of physical and spiritual. This visual guided tour seeks to explore the following key questions: How are the gods and spirits called upon for healing? How do objects for ritual and healing specifically reflect their ambivalent abilities to both hurt and heal?