Customer Reviews

Macumba: The Teachings of Maria-José, Mother of the Gods

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The book Macumba is about the Afro-Brazilian religion called Umbanda and is one of the only good books about this subject in English. Umbanda, called by outsiders for "Macumba", have more than 15 milion Brazilian followers and have only grown bigger and bigger during the past century. Umbanda and the other Afro-Brazilian religions, like Kimbanda, Candomble and Catimbo, can be compared to the Haitian Vodou religion and is in the same way as Vodou a synthesis of pagan African religion and Catholicism.

The author of the book have interwied different people who are part of this religion, like the "Mae de Santo" Maria José, who is a high priestess of an Umbanda Terreiro or Temple of Umbanda. In the book the author explains about how the African religions was brought to brazil along with the African slaves, and how the slaves had to mask their own spirituality in the form of catholicism and hide their own gods in the form of the christian saints, in order to survive.

In the different chapters of the book we can read about the differnt gods of Umbanda who are called Orixas and about the different rituals that are used by the followers of this religon to contact and get the blessings and the help from the different spirits. Umbanda is an initiatory religion and to truely belong to the fate you must go through different stages of spiritual initiation and find your own "head Orixa" and individual path.

In Umbanda there are many different gods, but they are all seen as different aspects or massengers of the one supreme divine force. Some of the most famous Orixas are Oxala, Imenjá, Xango, Oxum, Ogum, Iansã, Omulú, Oxossi and the trickster god Exu. This gods rule over different parts of the nature and represent different currents of divine energie, called Axé.

For example Iemanjá is the ruler of all the seas and oceans, Oxum is the goddess of love, Xango is the god of thunder, Ogum is the blacksmith god of war and all metal tools, Iansã is the goddess of storms and rain, Omulú is the god of all diseases and have the power to cause or cure all epidemics, Oxossi is the god of the forrests and the hunt, and last but not least we have Exu, who is the lawless Orixa who rules over all magic and have the power to open or close all physical or spiritual paths.

In the book the many different signs ( Ponto riscados) are given for this gods and we can read about how this symbols are used in the different rituals as the represantations and the gates to the Orixas. The author also tells about many of the different ceremonies he have witnessed and tells about what he have learned about the different magical rituals that can be used by the follwers of the gods of Umbanda.

The most controversial aspects of Umbanda and other Afro-Brazilan religions are the way the followers, during the different "giras" or dances, become possesed by their gods. In this religions the gods are not seen as transcendent forces but as an immanent aspects of the divine. During the trance and dance the "children of the fate" become as one with the spirits that they have called upon and can use the powers of the gods to heal or in many other ways bless the rest of the congregation.



I liked this book very much and think that it gives clear picture of one of the most complex and esoteric spiritual systems in the world. The book is written in 1975 but it stills feals modern and it is very easy to read through. There are also many interesting photos inside the book that shows the rituals of Umbanda and it have also some good drawings of the symbols of the Orixas. This is one of my favorite books about the Afro-Brazilian religions and I can recomend it to every one who likes to learn about this growing religion.

Serge Bramly's book is outstanding! Yes, it is written by an outsider looking in, but it is free of religious prejudice, free of religious assumptions, free of idiotic comparisons of Orishas and spirits with other entities found in other African Traditional religions. It shows how ONE MAN came across UMBANDA - which is really what this book is about! - and gives an account of a personal journey. It is highly recommended for every serious seeker and for everyone who comes to these traditions with an open heart and NOT with the desire to steal or copy ideas to make his or her own made-up tradition work a little better!

As to the interchangablility of terms in regards to the review below - if you have any first-hand experiences of Brazilian religion, be it in the streets of Brazil or in hussle and bussle of Brasilia, then you would know that the borders are not as clearly defined as our western mind wants it. This book is excellent, no matter what some wanna-be expercts have to say against it!

A good book written by an outsider. Decent information, and the cultural aspects are fascinating. If you are interested in Brazilian traditions, this is a helpful book.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand the author seems to be presenting a factual account of his experiences with an Umbanda terrerio. On the other hand, the author has chosen to combine the words Macumba and Umbanda to mean the same thing when they are not. The drawn symbols for the spirits are nice, and the author presents many different ones for the varied Exus. The only other major problem with this book is the author's tendency to call the spirits "gods". They are not "gods" they are spirits, in this faith there is one creator god and many spirits. My guess would be that the author did this to better sell more copies of his book. For the money this book is not a bad buy and the story presented is a nice one. Read it with a grain of salt.

A serious & thoughtful exploration of the beliefs and practicies of Macumba (the Brazilian version of voodoo) in the format of an interview with a leading traditional practioner. Includes many B&W photographs and drawings, as well as in depths examinations of Macumba metaphysics & cosmology. Highly recommended.

A truly sensationalist view of Candomble, Umbanda, and Espiritismo which Bramly apparently thinks are interchangable terms! Even the prejortive title of this book (MacUmba) suggests how it will read......not even of good entertainment value. I you want to be MISINFORMED about some of the Afro-Brazilian religious traditions, then this is the book for you! Save your money, learn Portuguese, and then read books written by and for practicioners.