21A.460 April 5, 2005 Guest Lecturer: Kathleen O’Connor • Presentation on research and dissertation done in Bahia, Brazil -- O Outro Lado: Candomblé, Psychiatry, and Discourse in Bahia, Brazil Candomblé and Psychiatric Practices in Bahia, Brazil • Candomblé is a set of traditional religious beliefs and practices that often deal with transaltered states – not trances as traditionally understood, but rather in altered states of being. • Using a Freudian label, practices in Candomblé often produce altered states of consciousness, hysteria, and periods of self-hypnosis – 3 specific phenomena within the commonly understood category of ‘trance’ experiences • Strong connection and interrelationship between the practice of Candomblé and biomedical psychiatric practices. Oftentimes both will be used to treat mental disorders. Candomblé and psychiatry perceived to be strongly interconnected to practioners. • In usage, people often use discourse on sending patients “to the other side” (o outro lado in Portuguese) to refer to sending patients to psychiatric care Background • Brazil was a slave country – economy mainly driven by sugar exportation • Slaves used in Brazil came from many different countries in Africa, predominantly from East African countries like the Congo, Benin, and Angola o These different African populations brought with them unique sets of traditional beliefs that eventually became foundation for the Candomblé tradition. Many beliefs and practices in Brazilian Candomblé transplanted from Congolese beliefs o In Brazil, Yoruba became the ritual language used for Candomblé, in later years usage of Yoruba became a marker for elite status within black community – was a symbol of cultural cohesiveness o Last wave of African captives was between 1830s-1888 • How much do Congolese traditions still exist in Brazil, particularly perceptions of body and mind? o Language used is almost identical to Kikongo, language used in the Congo region o Many spirits, deities in Candomblé can be traced back to Congolese beliefs. o Although has not specifically studied discourse on perceptions of mind and body, the similarities in language and in religious beliefs would suggest that there would similarities in how mind, body, emotions, and afflictions are represented, at least in religious context 1Candomblé Practices 1) Worship of orishas: deities/spirits central to Congolese beliefs, still exist in Brazil as the orixas/orishas o These are divinities of nature, earth, wind, air, etc o Making offerings, appeasing the orixas important in Candomblé  Strong orientation on offering food  The notion of physical spaces is also important in Candomblé. There are beliefs that regulate which physical spaces may be used for specific practices. All related to how to appropriately appease the orixas In ceremonial settings, it is seen that the orixas take over the body. There is a set public service in which women (and sometimes men) dress ritually and dance. Occasionally practitioners would get possessed by orixas o Note: possession is a Western term that carries highly pejorative overtones. May not be an appropriate term to describe the experiences of these practitioners o A better way to describe more accurately what happens is that these practitioners receive and manifest the spirit. Also, it is important to note that people generally welcome these spirits within ritual context – NOT an affliction or undesirable occurrence 2) Divination • Derived from African practices: 16 cowrie shells ‘read’ in ceremonial context. Understood that everything could be determined using divination methods • Divination could be used to determine source, cause, and possible treatments for various afflictions • Out of context possession: when individuals present symptoms of illness, divination can be used to determine if affliction is a pathology of illness or if it is due to a spirit that has possessed the body outside of a ceremonial context. Divination thus becomes a way to distinguish biomedical illnesses from spiritual afflictions, thereby becoming a way for individual to determine what course of action to take • Divination can determine whether patient seeks treatment from biomedical psychiatric institutions or from traditional spiritual practices 3) Ancestor Worship • Ancestor worship (Egun) in men’s realm • Ancestor worship, placating spirits of the dead is necessary because spirits may not know that they are dead, want to stay with the living or take the living with them • Is there a distinction made between the spirits of the newly dead and ancestors? i. Yes and no. When a person dies, they go into that general category, but the distinctions are malleable and can be manipulated somewhat 24) Syncretic practices: religious practices are the result of a mixing of different traditions. Can be argued that Candomblé itself is a syncretic religion • Candomblé and Christianity: Catholic saints are often worshipped in conjunction with traditional spirits. Both are respected within Candomblé and are represented • In certain religions Catholic saints are worshipped, but they are represented as personifications of traditional deities – argued that this was a way to continue worshipping traditional deities and spirits under cover when people could be punished for not believing in Christianity – not necessarily the case in Candomblé, where saints are worshipped separately, although in conjunction with, orixa 5) Memory Practices: Important to commemorate and keep memory of dead. Masses are held for every person who died during the past year • Axexe: funeral practices. Lasts 7 days if person was an initiate in Candomblé, ends with a Catholic Mass. Resolution of Mental Health Issues • How do urban poor in Bahia resolve problems of mental health? Background • Life is perceived to be very tenuous • Population of 3 million • Northeast region of Brazil (predominantly black) politically and socially marginalized by South (predominantly white), which dominates economic trade and tourism business. To get to NE region tourists must go through Southern regions, which diverts much of the tourist trade • Brazil has a history of racial tensions: o History of “whitening” practices as a form of eugenics to ‘improve’ the nation’s predominantly mixed racial heritage