The Mnemonics of Bodily Practice and Animal Sacrifice in Brazilian Candomblé

• In Event: Spiritualities and bodily practice

Description for Program

This interdisciplinary essay inquires on the communications strategies and commensality behaviors related to interspecies relationships. Methodologically I engage with anthropological inter-subjective heuristics and mid-20th century Afro-Brazilian cookbooks centered on Bahian regional cooking or sacred Candomblé recipes and foodways as literature in my analysis of the role of the Candomblé practitioners and their interlocutors; animals that complete ritual prayer ceremonies, and feed the faithful. Roger Bastide’s The Cuisine of the (Candomblé) Gods, (1952), builds overtop of works of some of his contemporaries in Brazil’s northeastern region, particularly, Sodré Vianna’s Caderno de Xangô, (1940), Darwin Brandão’s A Cozinha Baiana, (1965), as well as Arthur Ramos’ chapter, Notas sôbre a culinária afro-brasileira, (1942), from his book, A Aculturação Negra No Brazil, (Negro/Black Acculturation in Brazil) and complementary writings from Cuban ethnographer/activist, Lydia Cabrera. I will add Olga Francisca Régis’, (Olga do Alaqueto) A Comida de Santo Numa Casa de Queto da Bahia, with an introduction by Vivaldo da Costa Lima (2010). I am interested by the dialectics and the interspecies communication strategies and prayer rituals associated with animal sacrifice. This practice has been common to many world religions throughout history, although some of the discourses in nature and content may be unique to African Diaspora religions. I am curious about the implications and dialectics between sacred and profane Afro-Brazilian ethnomedicinal practice?

Author

• Scott Barton, Notre Dame