Nago Grandma and White Papa: Candomble and the Creation of Afro-Brazilian Identity (Latin America in Translation En Traduccion Em Traducao)

209 Pages·2009·1.25 MB·English

by  Beatriz Gois Dantas

nagô grandma
white papa
and
A book in the series
Latin America in Translation /
en Traducción / em Tradução
Sponsored by the Consortium in
Latin American Studies at the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill and Duke University
nagô grandma
white papa
and
Candomblé
and the
Creation of
Afro-Brazilian
Identity
Beatriz Góis Dantas
translated by
Stephen Berg
the university of
north carolina press
Chapel Hill
Translation of the books in the series Latin America in
Translation / en Traducción / em Tradução, a collaboration
between the Consortium in Latin American Studies at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University
and the university presses of the University of North Carolina and
Duke, is supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
© 2009 The University of North Carolina Press
All rights reserved • Manufactured in the United States of America
Originally published in Portuguese with the title Vovó Nagô e Papai
Branco: Usos e abusos da África no Brasil, © 1988 Beatriz Góis Dantas.
Set in Scala and Othello
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book
Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the
Green Press Initiative since 2003.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dantas, Beatriz Góis.
[Vovó Nagô e Papai Branco. English]
Nagô Grandma and White Papa : Candomblé and the creation of Afro-
Brazilian identity / Beatriz Góis Dantas ;
translated by Stephen Berg.
p. cm.— (Translation of the books in the series Latin America in
translation)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-8078-3177-9 (cloth: alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-8078-5975-9 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Afro-Brazilian cults. 2. Brazil—Religion. I. Title.
bl2590.b7d3513 2009
299.6'73—dc22 2009009197
cloth 13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1
paper 13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1
To the memory of
Josefina Leite Campos,
teacher. With faith and
competence she
initiated me in the
adventure of
anthropology.
. . . . .
And to
Bilina of Laranjeiras,
from whom I learned that
initiating filhos-de-santo
is also an act of competence
and faith.
purity is the enemy of change,
of ambiguity and compromise.
most of us would feel safer
if our experience could be
hard-set and fixed in form.
— mary douglas, Purity and Danger
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
•one•
The Configuration of Prestige
in Xangô Terreiros 9
•two•
Nagô Speaks of Itself 30
•three•
Nagô Speaks of “the Others” 65
• four•
The Construction and Meaning
of “Nagô Purity” 85
•five•
Uses of Africa by the Nagô
Terreiro 134
Conclusion 150
Glossary 155
Notes 161
Bibliography 179
Index 185
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Acknowledgments
I hope this study contributes to enriching the debate on so-called Afro-
Brazilian religions, which have not been the object of many publications
over the past decade.
People and institutions contributed in different ways to the making of
this work. I should like to express my thanks to them:
To the Federal University of Sergipe for having granted me a leave of
absence that allowed me to take my degree and to capes/picd for award-
ing me a scholarship.
To Professors Maria Manuela Carneiro da Cunha, adviser, and Peter
Fry, co-adviser, who jointly witnessed the genesis of the idea for this
work, believed in it, and supervised its preparation, stimulating me with
their enthusiasm, discussions, suggestions, and friendship.
To my colleagues and teachers at unicamp’s master’s program in social
anthropology, particularly to Rubem César Fernandes, Mariza Correa,
Mauro Almeida, Antônio Augusto Arantes Neto, and Carlos Rodrigues
Brandão for their criticism and suggestions, above all in the presentation
of the project.
To Gisélia Góis Santana, who patiently deciphered manuscripts that
Francisco José Costa Dantas and Rosa Virgínia Bonfim revised in final
form.
To the many pais and mães-de-santo of Laranjeiras and, in particular,
to the members of Bilina’s terreiro, who accepted me and my “wanting to
know for study purposes,” which was different from their experiential
knowledge.
To the many relatives and kin who offered me support at the hardest
moments, especially to Ibarê Júnior and Sílvia, my children, who shared
with me the discipline and sacrifices entailed by the composition of this
work, which were assuaged and dignified by the friendly, stimulating
presence of Ibarê, my partner on the journey.
Aracaju, July 1986