macumba
Noun 1. A syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that originated in the 19th century, combining elements of West African religions (especially Yoruba and Bantu traditions), Roman Catholicism, and indigenous South American beliefs. It involves rituals of singing, chanting, and dancing to invoke spirits (orixás) for guidance, healing, or other purposes. 2. A style of popular dance music from Brazil that is rhythmically derived from the ceremonial music used in macumba religious rituals. 3. (In Brazil) The collective term for the followers of this religious cult.
The word "macumba" is used primarily as a proper noun to name a specific religion, its music, or its adherents. It is important to note that in Brazil, the term can sometimes be used broadly or imprecisely by outsiders to refer to various Afro-Brazilian religions, though practitioners of traditions like Candomblé or Umbanda may distinguish their practices from macumba.
- As a religion:
- She studies the rituals and beliefs of macumba.
- The ceremony was a traditional macumba ritual for healing.
- As music:
- The festival featured the energetic sounds of macumba.
- This song has strong macumba rhythms.
- As followers:
- The macumba gathered at the sacred site for the annual celebration.
- In academic or anthropological contexts, "macumba" is recognized as a distinct religious system with its own cosmology, pantheon of deities (orixás), and ritual practices centered on spirit possession, animal sacrifice, and offerings.
- The term can sometimes carry a pejorative connotation in colloquial Brazilian Portuguese, used to label any Afro-Brazilian religious practice in a dismissive or superstitious way.
- Macumbeiro/macumbeira (n): A male/female practitioner or priest of macumba.
- Candomblé (n): Another major Afro-Brazilian religion, often compared to or distinguished from macumba.
- Umbanda (n): A Brazilian religion that blends African traditions with Spiritism and Catholicism, also related to the macumba tradition.
- Afro-Brazilian religion (general category)
- Cult (in the anthropological sense of a system of religious worship)
- For music: Afro-Brazilian dance music
- Fazer macumba: A Portuguese phrase meaning "to perform macumba," often used colloquially to mean casting a spell or working magic, sometimes with negative intent.
- Rumors spread that someone had feito macumba against the team. (Rumors spread that someone had put a curse on the team.)
-
a Brazilian religious cult of African origin; combines voodoo elements with singing and chanting and dancing
-
popular dance music of Brazil; derived from the practices of the macumba religious cult
-
(Brazil) followers of a religious cult of African origin
