UMBANDA EM GOIÂNIA - Faculdade de História - UFG

ABSTRACT
UMBANDA IN GOIÂNIA
FROM THE ORIGINS TO THE FEDERATIVE MOVEMENT (1948-2003)
As a hybrid religion, Umbanda has elements of different sources in its daily practices.
Thus, it doesn’t have, necessarily, a single and centralized doctrine, in spite of several
leaders had tried to impose a unified doctrine to it. That was one of the roles of several
Umbanda Federations during the 20 th century. Another role was to protect the shrines
against the persecutions and repressions made by the State, Catholicism and the press.
Therefore, the federations tried to protect the shrines and, on the other hand, they tried
to control and centralize the religion, in its doctrines and socially. In the state of Goiás
such control was held by the Umbanda and Candomblé Federation of Goiás, established
in 1969 in Goiânia City. This dissertation, therefore, has as main objective to analyze
the path of the religion in Goiânia, focusing its origins; the action of the Federation; as
well as the conflicts and tensions created between it, the State repressive apparels and
the shrines, from 1948 until 2003, when Goiânia was the scenario of a public
repudiation of Umbanda, by some neo-Pentecostal churches against the exposition of
seven sculptures depicting Orixás in a park of the city, which is known as “Vaca-Brava
Episode”.
Keywords: Umbanda - Afro-Brazilian Religions – Goiânia – 20 th and 21 st centuries -
Cultural Hybridism.
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