Tag Archives: brazil

Yamaya/Yemoja: An African Deity

Nationality: Brazilian-American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: January 1st' 2012, April 2012
Primary Language: English

My informant states that Africans from what is now called Yorubaland brought Yemaya/Yemoja and a host of other deities/energy forces in nature with them, when they were brought to the shores of the Brazil as captives. She is the ocean, the essence of motherhood, and a protector of children. Once in Brazil, the myth was passed through oral tradition because the Portugese slave owners didn’t let them worship their deities openly. Her name slowly evolved into Yemanja over time. What is also interesting is after the Independence of Brazil, people were allowed to worship whatever deities and Gods they wanted. Yet Brazilians ended up enjoying the ritual of asking Yemoja for a blessing on New Years, as the ocean is a big part of Brazilian culture. Even during Brazilian carnivals, there was floats and imageries of Yemoja, as she is now a strong symbol of Brazilian culture.

My informant stated that his  mother first told him about this because it’s tradition to wear white on New Year’s day and go to the beach and put flowers in the ocean to honor her and for her to bless your new year with good luck. Everyone in Brazil now do this as it is part of their New Year’s tradition. Not only do Brazilians do this during New Years, but also when family members pass away.

This is an interesting analyzation of how another culture adopted a different culture’s customs and ritual to fit their needs. The fact that sending flowers to the ocean to celebrate Yemoja brings good luck is another example of asking for protection. What is also interesting is whether one believes in the deity or not, everyone does it during Brazil as it has transformed into a tradition.

The Legend of Xica da Silva

Nationality: Brazilian-American
Performance Date: April 2007

Xica da Silva was an African slave woman in Brazil long before the nation abolished it in 1888.  She was able to gain her freedom through marriage into the Portuguese court.  A particular royal Portuguese official (Tax Collector according to my informant) “fell desperately for her” and she gave him sexual favors, winning her emancipation.  The collector, who was becoming wealthy and powerful due to the success of gold mining in Brazil, had a palace built for his wife.  Even though the colony in which they lived was landlocked, he also built a ship and a lagoon for the ship, just so Xica could feel the sensation of sailing.
My informant says that it was Xica’s rise out of slavery and into wealth and luxury that made her legendary among the slaves.  I asked her if Xica was some kind of hero to the slaves or did anything to benefit them, and my informant said that Xica, through sex, earned only her own freedom and in fact had slaves herself.  This story remained a popular local legend until the emancipation of the slaves in 1888, and has now apparently become a migratory legend.  When the slaves were freed, their labor was replaced by that of immigrants.  My informant’s family, originally of Italian descent (she had one Portuguese grandmother; the rest of the family were Italian), emigrated to Brazil in 1890, where her grandfather grew up on a coffee farm.  He heard this historical legend from the local workers, who were former slaves, and he passed it to my informant, who recalled it as the story “that impressed me the most” of all those she heard from Brazilian lore.  She said that Xica was indeed a historical person, and that the essence of the story is true (how Xica used sex to buy freedom and lived in abundance as the wife of a wealthy nobleman), but that the popular imagination among the slaves may have exaggerated the amount of gold and luxury she enjoyed.

Mirrors attract storms and should be covered during a storm.

Nationality: Brazilian-American
Performance Date: April 2007

My informant is a native of Brazil and is of Portuguese descent.  According to her, her grandmother, from whom she learned this superstition, was a fervent Catholic and “knew hundreds of saints and their miracles and for every misfortune or mishap there would be some saint to pray to or a superstition to fix it!”  She said superstitions were her grandmother’s specialty.  She recalls of her grandmother: “If it was raining hard with thunder and lightning she would go around the house covering the mirrors: they attract the storm.”
I have never heard any superstition quite like this one, though I have heard others that associate omens with mirrors.  Certainly I have never associated mirror superstitions like this one with Catholicism.  This magic-superstition is probably either taken directly from native lore or is a hybridization of the lore of the Portuguese with that of the native land.

Sta. Clara Superstition

Nationality: Brazilian-American
Performance Date: April 2007

“If you wanted the weather to change from cloudy and rainy to sunny and dry: break an egg over a wall under the moon in honor of Saint Clara and the weather would change in the morning.”

This is my informant’s synopsis of a superstition her grandmother held.  My informant is a native of Brazil and is of Portuguese descent.  According to her, her grandmother, from whom she learned this superstition, was a fervent Catholic and “knew hundreds of saints and their miracles and for every misfortune or mishappen there would be some saint to pray to or a superstition to fix it!”  She said superstitions were her grandmother’s specialty.
This belief strikes me as one of the most contrived-sounding superstitions I have ever heard; it really seems strange to combine all those elements.  According to the New Advent’s Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html), there were two St. Clare’s (but no “Clara”).  Both were known for their piety, but neither is associated with the weather or the sun or clouds or rain.  Certainly, neither is associated with the egg or fertility, as nuns are celibate.  This magic- superstition is likely an example of hybridization.  As many holidays including Christmas and Easter were once non-Christian feasts, to which the Catholic church attached Christian meaning to facilitate mass-conversion within their growing dominion, this superstition was probably once a native idea, to which Portuguese Catholics attached Saint Clara (or Clare).  As the name “Clare” (and also “clarity” and “clairvoyance”) is associated with light, St. Clare was probably chosen to replace a pagan entity that manipulated weather in the native lore.

Prayer to São Longuinho

Nationality: Brazilian-American
Performance Date: April 2007

    “If you are looking for something and can’t find it you need to promise to São Longuinho that you will jump three times and scream three times and the saint will find it for you.”

This is my informant’s description of a superstition her grandmother held.  My informant is a native of Brazil and is of Portuguese descent.  According to her, her grandmother, from whom she learned this superstition, was a fervent Catholic and “knew hundreds of saints and their miracles and for every misfortune or mishap there would be some saint to pray to or a superstition to fix it!”  She said superstitions were her grandmother’s specialty.
I am not aware of any superstition of jumping and screaming to find a lost object in Catholic tradition.  This superstition does, however, contain Catholic elements, such as the saint, and the idea of three.  Catholic tradition is replete with threes, symbolizing the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  This magic-superstition is likely an example of hybridization.  As many holidays including Christmas and Easter were once non-Christian feasts, to which the Catholic church attached Christian meaning to facilitate mass-conversion within their growing dominion, this superstition was probably once a native idea, to which Portuguese Catholics attached S o Longuinho.