Editing Candomblé

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; margin:0 0 1em 1em; width:320px;"
! colspan="2" | Candomblé
|-
! Family
| African diasporic / Afro-Brazilian
|-
! Origin region
| Brazil, with roots in West and Central African traditions
|-
! Founding period
| Developed in the Atlantic world, especially from the colonial and post-colonial periods onward
|-
! Estimated adherents
| Estimates vary; practiced in Brazil and diasporic communities.
|}

'''Candomblé''' is an Afro-Brazilian religion centered on devotion to orixás and other spiritual powers, ritual music, dance, initiation, sacrifice, healing, and community lineage.

== Overview ==

Candomblé formed among African-descended communities in Brazil through the preservation and transformation of Yoruba, Fon, Bantu, and other African religious traditions. It is organized through temple communities, ritual lineages, initiatory hierarchies, sacred music, drumming, possession-trance, offerings, divination, and devotion to divine powers known in many houses as orixás, voduns, or inkices.

== Key beliefs ==

* Divine and spiritual powers associated with nature, ancestry, and sacred history
* The importance of initiation, lineage, and ritual obligation
* Reciprocal relationship between humans and orixás or other sacred powers
* Axé as sacred force, vitality, and spiritual effectiveness
* Respect for ancestors, elders, and temple authority

== Practices ==

* Initiation and ritual training
* Drumming, singing, dance, and possession-trance ceremonies
* Offerings, sacrifice, purification, and divination
* Festival cycles honoring specific orixás or spiritual powers
* Community care, healing, and ritual obligations

== Places of worship ==

* Terreiros, temples, ritual yards, homes, and sacred natural sites

== Sacred texts ==

* Candomblé relies mainly on oral transmission, ritual knowledge, songs, liturgy, divination systems, and temple lineages rather than one universal scripture

== Holidays and observances ==

* Festival calendars vary by house and nation, often honoring specific orixás, saints’ days, ancestors, and local community events

== Branches and related traditions ==

* [[Vodou]]
* [[Santería]]
* [[Umbanda]]
* [[Ifa]]

== See also ==

* [[Religion]]
* [[Theology]]
* [[Philosophy of religion]]
* [[New Religious Movements]]
* [[Indigenous and Traditional Religions]]

[[Category:Religions]]
[[Category:African diasporic religions]]
[[Category:Modern / Global]]