The Ethic of Love in Umbanda's Pretos-Velhos
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.9771/aa.v0i66.47696Keywords:
Pretos-Velhos, Memories of Slavery, Non-violent resistance, Umbanda, Oral HistoryAbstract
This study examines interviews conducted with mediums in Umbanda terreiros in São João del-Rei and Montevideo during rituals in which they declared themselves to have incorporated spirits of pretos-velhos. This research is based on oral history methodology and was undertaken between 2017 and 2021. We found that the reports collected maintained a common structure despite the enormous physical distance between the terreiros in the study, starting with narratives of pain and suffering, followed by speeches of resistance, and, finally, concluding with a presentation of values and advice suggestive of the experience of captivity. The statements made by mediums during the two final moments of the interviews (in which they stated having channeled such entities) approximate the concept of non-violent resistance present in the activism of great leaders such as Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We also found that the collective memories currently developed in these temples and many of the values and courses of action of the pretos-velhos are extremely resonant with some aspects of the discourse of the contemporary anti-racist movement, echoing statements made by bell hooks, Emicida, and Paulina Chiziane, for example.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Lívia Lima Rezende
![Creative Commons License](http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are entitled to freely share, adapt and use the work herein published for any legitimate purpose as long as authorship and the original source are acknowledged.