Candomblé

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