Candomble

Last night I was lucky enough to attend a Candomble ceremony here in Salvador. Candomble is a religion that was developed in Salvador by Western African slaves (Yoruba) about 400 years ago. It is primarily practiced here, but is also popular in a few other countries. When slaves were brought here they were forced to practice Catholicism so in a effort to preserve their culture they continued their rituals, and gradually combining them with Catholicism. To achieve this they would use strategies such as hiding idols in the churches and secretely bringing them out during the service. They also illegally practiced other rituals out of site or out of reach of the police (ie in the forrest). The West Africans were sucessful and over the years the religion developed and grew into a strong part of the culture.
Yesterday was a National holiday here in Brazil as it was Corpus Christi. This is also the new year for Candomble, so the ceremony was extra special. We were told not to wear any black, only light colours or preferably white. We were taken to a Casa Branca (a large white house), the men went to the left side of the room and the women went to the right. It was pretty crowded (and hot!), but I could see into the middle of the room which is where all the action took place.
The ceremony soon started with African drumming and about 25 people came in the room and slowly danced around in a large circle while singing. It was beautiful. The dancers were from all races, both genders and a were a wide range of ages. The dancers (I don't know if there is a name) wore white clothes with colourful belts and sashes. The colours were light bright pinks, blues and greens. They each had a white scarf wrapped around their heads. At some point ( I didn't notice when) the "Mother of Saints", the head of the Casa, came in and sat at the front of the room. Two "Priests" were also sitting on either side of the room. The dancing continued for over an hour.
In Candomble, they believe in spirits or saints which are called "Orixa"(pronounced Orisha). Everyone has 2 Orixa with them, the Orixa represent different elements of life and they are aligned with Saints in Catholicism. The purpose of the dancing was to call the Orixas so they could communicate with us. The Dancers then one by one went into a trance- so that the Orixas could talk to us through them. As each dancer went into a trance their eyes closed or left slightly open and rolled back. They then verbalized, chanted and danced. There were "spotters" who mostly adjusted clothing and ocassionally guided them. Then after about an hour and in small groups, the dancers were lead out of the room. Sometimes one would come back in and I noticed that the chants from the audience escalated. Once everyone danced out,and the spirits had stopped communicating, and a meal was passed out (I didn't eat, it was about 10:15 by then).
When people were finished eating, the dancers came back in, this time dressed as the Orixas. Again the costumes were gorgeous. Bright colours, well made and each of them were different. One had on a cowboy looking hat, one had on a Roman style hat and another had on an Egypitian style crown. They also each had a veil made of small beads. It was so pretty, but we couldn't take pictures so you'll have to take my word for it.
The party then continued for the members of the Casa and we left.
This was the most facinating religious ceremony I have seen!