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Umbanda
Umbanda. A Brazilian cult which, because of its syncretizing tendencies, has also become a general term for all forms of a new eclectic and syncretist religious complex in urban Brazil. The spiritual world is composed of many spirit powers drawn from sources such as the following: (i) caboclos, spirits of great Amerindian leaders or of spiritualized natural forces; (ii) pretos velhos, spirits of the old or wise among Negro slaves, (iii) crianças, spirits of children who died young; (iv) orixas, spirits of African ancestors or deities, especially Yoruba; (v) spirits of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, or the saints of Portuguese folk Catholicism, often equated with the previous group; and (vi) other spirits and occult powers as understood in the sophisticated French spiritualism articulated by Alan Kardec (1804–69), which attracts the higher social classes.
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Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Umbanda." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Umbanda." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Umbanda.html JOHN BOWKER. "Umbanda." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Umbanda.html |
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