Rio de Janeiro On New Year's Eve & 1st Of January
Written: Jan 06 '01
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Pros: Take your spot on either Ipanema or Copacabana beaches; Corcovado, macarana stadium; the samba and the people; mixed religions
Cons: The mushrooming of new age groups...too many of them
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| charles's Full Review: Rio de Janeiro |
At dusk, they head to the sea, the beaches. Clad with white outfits, the high priestesses, priests or babalao and a large group of devotees are heading to Ipanema and Copacabana, two of the most famous beaches in the world. In Rio de Janeiro, local media cover, film and broadcast the events for the rest of the world. Imagine, for an instance, that you can find the same group of people doing the same things all over the country, in all communities.
This procession or religious parade includes Brazilians from all ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds. The poor as well as the well-off, the illiterate as well as the literati, the outcasts as well as the socialite take part in this annual celebration. This is the magic and historical tradition of syncretic or mixed religions in Brazil. Everybody is ready to go to the ocean to launch, sail their little boats packed with goodies for the saints. If these boats sink, it can be a matter of being able to continue to receive these spirits' support for another year. Every year and on the 1st of January, millions of Brazilians flock to the see to participate in these rituals. They are ready to offer presents to the "goddess of the sea," Yemanji. This one is usually associated with the Virgin Mary of the Catholic faith. (More explanations will follow in regards to the reasons of syncretism)
Mystical or religious tourism in Brazil
Along with the Summer seaon (Dec-Feb), religious celebration is one of the great reasons most Brazilians return to Brazil. It's also a good time to get some great travel packets if you start doing your homework early. In fact, most of my former College roommates always took advantage of any opportunities to travel back to the mother land most Christmas seasons. For any tourists, being in Rio de Janeiro for the holiday season is never too bad. You will be kept very busy.
How did it all get started? Macumba, Uumbanda, Quimbanda and history
While the Catholic church appeared to reach some levels of success in converting some of the native people to Roman Catholicism, it did not have this kind of success with the largest population of African diaspora in the New World. The number of African slaves brought to Brazil by the Portugueuse surpassed that of the second concentration of slaves found in Haiti and later in the US. These slaves practiced some kind of religion practiced in the Yoruban region (as in Nigeria and other Central and West African countries). Under extreme pressure by the slave masters, owners and the Catholic church, the slaves were compelled to incorporate their beliefs into the spirits and the magic of the native faith. Basically, the African slaves publicly followed the church while they secretly practiced their African religions until they became free in 1888. That's how we now have the incorporation of religion into Brazilian culture and the the Roman catholic church.
This etat de choses also occurred in most other Latin American countries. For example, under French slavery, the African slaves found in Saint Domingue (now Haiti) resorted to the same secret practices and mixture of spirits and faith to survive the the many years of slavery and prohibition. Some of the persecution even occurred way after Haiti became the second independent in this hemisphere and the 1st black country to put an end to slavery in 1804. The slaves found in Cuba also went to a long period of concealment of their religious practices.
Mystical unity and tolerance: Samba or the rythm of the Saints
Through these long periods of persecution and tribulation, tolerance took hold. Brazilians, for the most part, realize that religious tolerance must be accepted. The covert practices of their religion which ultimately gave rise to empowerment started with the permission to the slaves by the masters to keep their drums. They were allowed to play their drums at their meetings. You can now appreciate the unique cheering style of Brazilians at soccer stadiums all over the country. If you intend to visit Brazil, don't forget to attend a soccer game at Maracana stadium. The batucadas reign in Brazil. The rich religious and cultural environments bring us the most unique beats of Samba. In the US, we have the Blues.
In short, if you want to visit to Rio de Janeiro for the Carnival, just start thinking about this:
Macumba (candomble and Umbanda) as the equivalent of Voodoo or Vodun and Santeria
* Macumba is the term used to refer to two forms of Afriacan spirit worship in Brazil: Candomble and Umbanda. The umbandistas believe that all spirits are good. This is a comparison in deity functions in Haiti where the Hougan who serve with their right hands intend to do well and heal the sick.
* Quimbanda is practiced by a fairly large group of people who believe some spirits some misbehaving spirits can be tamed. The Quimbandistas believe they can work with these unruly spirits. Devotees think they can contact and incorporate these bad spirits. They can receive power from them. People think of Quimbanda as black magic.
Useful information about Rio and beyond
* Aspects of Macumba's faith: a.) Humans have both physical and spiritual body. (Is this some similarity between the catholic or even protestant doctrine and Macumba?) b.) Discarnate entities constantly contact the physical world c.) Humans can learn to contact and incorporate the spirits for the purposes of healing and spiritual evolution.
* Brasilia, founded in 1960, is a very modernist city with lots of beautiful architectures. But it's somewhat isolated according to most Brasilians.
* Hot beaches to see great bodies and cariocas are Ipanema and Copacabana. Walk the beaches and see for yourself. These beaches are the most democratic places on earth. Take enough snack and water along.
* Corcovada: A site you must go to if you happen to be down there. You will see the statue of Jesus there.
Enjoy your Summer vacation in Rio de Janeiro! Celebrate and dance like Brasilians above all.
Recommended:
Yes
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charles
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Location: CA, USA
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