UMBANDA, UMA RELIGIÃO SINCRÉTICA E BRASILEIRA.

Abstract

This thesis analyzes the Umbanda religion and its consolidated training process through a continuous syncretism that began in the late 17th Century, with the first black religious communities, mostly Bantu s origin. This formation process of Umbanda presented four phases. The first one began with the Calundu, in the 17th Century, advancing to Cabula, in the early 19th Century, the Macumba, in the middle of this same century, resulting in Umbanda, which emerged in the early 20th century, and has become the fourth phase of this syncretic religious and continuous process. The research is intended to open a discussion about the formation process of the structural basis of The Umbanda Religion, which origin comes from the fusion of several elements of African origin, the Spiritualism of Kardecista, the elements of indigenous origin and even the elements of Catholicism. This way, it characterizes a highly syncretic process, and because of its approach to Christianity, a significant separation from its African headquarters occurred. Nowadays, some theorists do not want to use the term syncretism, relating it to situations of domination, as something impure, and therefore, relegated as a negative term, considered a pejorative concept, such as bringing in its essence, a conception of the mixture, thus denying the originality and identity of the African s descent people. Thus, some researchers prefer to use the terms hybridity and bricolage(DIY), stating that these terms are different from the term syncretism. As a result of this debate, we can clearly identify in which parts of the discussion these authors either match or differ in their points of view, and how different and distant they are in their theories about these terms, in order to verify the applicability of the Umbanda Religion. We approach the search process of its legitimation as a Brazilian Umbanda religion, and to be accepted by the ruling class. Accordingly, we analyze its passage by the Vargas era, its relationship with the Catholic Church and the military dictatorship, when it reached its zenith. We analyzed its precipitous decline, from the 1980s on, with the growth of neo- Pentecostal movements. Since then, the Umbanda has been in decline, but revived in the 21st. century, represented by three major religious segments namely: Initiative Umbanda, Holy Umbanda and Cross Line Umbanda.