2006, Pilgrimage and Patronage in Brazil A Paradigm For Social Relations and Religious Diversity PDF

Pilgrimage and Patronage in Brazil: A Paradigm for Social Relations and Religious Diversity
Author(s): Sidney M. Greenfield and Antonio Mourão Cavalcante

Source: Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 43, No. 2 (2006), pp. 63-89
Published by: University of Wisconsin Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4490666
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Pilgrimage and Patronage in Brazil:
A Paradigm for Social Relations and Religious Diversity
Sidney M. Greenfield
Antonio Mour o Cavalcante
Este artigo descreve e analisa uma romaria ao santudrio de Sao Francisco das
Chagas, no municipio de Caninde (Ceard), no nordeste brasileiro. Elefoi escri
em resposta a um comentdrio de Daniel Gross feito hd trns d&cadas, descreve
a ausencia da romaria na literatura etnogrdfica. Baseado em estudo de campo
realizado em fins dos anos oitenta e inicio dos anos noventa, juntamente com
recentes visitas relativas e dados coletados em nossos estudos sobre outras reli
6es "populares," os autores testaram as hip6teses de Gross sobre as rela~des en
os padroes das rela?6es sociais nas esferas religiosa e social. Gross propie que
as trocas assimrtricas realizadas pelofiel corn o santo no dominio dos espelho
sagrados e a mesma entre o patrao e o cliente no mundo secular. Os autores co
cluem que apesar de considerdveis mudangas na cultura e sociedade brasileira
durante a ultima metade do se'culovinte, o imagindrio de uma troca assimrt
entre um pedintefevoroso e um supernatural com a habilidade de satisfazer
suas necessidades, continua espalhada na vida religiosa brasileira e segue com
um importante modelo de organizagao social no dominio secular. A andlise
nos permite integrar o estudo da peregrinaqao, o culto de santos e o "catolicis
popular na literatura em religi6es centempordneas brasileiras. N6s concluim
que a religido deva continuar a ser vista como um paradigma para as rela(6es
seculares modernas. Alekm disso, n6s propomos um esquema/plano de trabal
revisado para compreender a religido brasileira e a vida simb6lica e suas rela
?6es com a organiza?do social da sociedade.
Introduction
In a paper on pilgrimage to the shrine of Bom Jesus da Lapa in the state of

Bahia, Daniel Gross lamented more than three decades ago, "Pilgrimages
have been largely neglected in the ethnographic literature, not only in Brazil
Luso-Brazilian Review 43:2 63

ISSN 0024-7413, 20oo6 by the Board of
of the University of Wisconsin System
64 Luso-Brazilian Review 43:2
and Latin America but in other a

1971: 129). While some valuable s
in the intervening years,' this im
refer to as "popular" Catholicism i
ficiently examined.
In the years since Gross condu
changed greatly. The population ha
occurring in the urban areas; the e
ciety and its citizens have been sub
and globalization.2 Research on rel
mographic changes; recent studies
Spiritist groups and rapidly expan
the ever-growing urban centers. L
ally rural pilgrimages and the cult
Subjected to new theoretical influ
away from Gross' concern with
pilgrimage in terms of the mode
at the time as characteristic of s
cluded his 1971 paper saying "...p
the system by projecting earthly r
people act out debt paying as ritua
Worship and the paying of prom
which a client owes to his superior
enormous powers of decision over
to heal; often they hold life-and-d
earthly constraint to accede to the
If a patron or a saint fails to fulfi
power possible (Gross 1971: 145).
Our objective in this paper is to r
cial structure and more specifically
I describes a pilgrimage to a shri
also in the Brazilian northeast co
more than a decade after Gross d
us to conclude, as he did, that patr
evidenced in the interaction bet
also provides the symbolic imagery
with power and control in this wo
range of Afro-Brazilian, Spiritist a
also employ patron-client exchan
believers (and potential believer
bl6, Xang6, Tambor de Minas, Ba
tecostalism and other evangelical
one from the other in terms of th
Greenfield, Cavalcante 65
liefs and ritual practices, sinc

help humans with their prob
can be applied.
We refer to the ritual part
new faiths, as in the older wo
tion follow from rather than
an individual in search of help
necessarily participate in rit
of as religious and devotional
from the supernatural in an i
The analysis will enable us to
the cult of the saints and "pop
temporary "popular" religions
the paradigm for modeling s
work for understanding Bra
tion to the social organization
PART I
A Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Francis in Caninde

When the driver suddenly applied the breaks to the rickety old truck while
making the sharp right turn onto the traffic congested road marked Caninde,
Maria de Fatima Batista6 braced herself on the backless bench she had oc-
cupied for much of the previous four days. She was almost there. Her dream
was about to be realized.
It all began some five years earlier when FAtima, an agricultural laborer al-
most thirty years old, fell from a cart badly hurting her leg. Though taken to a
doctor, several weeks after treatment the swelling was still there and the pain
had grown worse. Unable to return to work in the fields and having difficulty
caring for her husband, house and children, FAtima realized that her problem
was serious. Not knowing what else to do, she sought the help of Sao Fran-
cisco (St. Francis), the powerful holy being she had heard so much about.
While it was true she had barely been inside a church for years, and was
not, by any measure, a religious person, her plight was such that the idea of
turning to the supernatural seemed a viable option. The woman prayed with
great fervor to the saint, promising that if cured she would visit his shrine in
Caninde where she would light candles, attend mass, take confession, walk
the stations of the cross and dress in a mortalha, a brown habit similar to the
one he wore in life. As an additional expression of her lowliness, dependence
and humility in the face of this important heavenly figure, she added that
if healed she would cut off her beautiful waist length black hair that was so
admired by friends and relatives.
In the weeks to follow Fi

to resume her normal activities. A month later she was back at work. Soon
thereafter the pain disappeared completely. Thrilled with the "miraculous"
recovery, FAtima told her cousin what had occurred. The other woman of-
fered to accompany her to fulfill the vow. Maria Laura's own visit to Caninde,
she reminisced, had been the high point of her life and returning, though
requiring great sacrifice, would bestow untold pleasure.
Seu Ant6nio, who freighted goods in the region, put benches without
backs and a precarious cover on his truck each year on the anniversary of
the saint's birthday and carried passengers to Canind& for the festival. The
pau-de-arara, as such trucks are called, accommodated some 60 to 70 pil-
grims. When Laura learned the cost, she estimated the amount of money the
two would need for food and other items to sustain them during the ten-
day trip. The women realized that the journey would cost considerably more
than they had and it might be several years before they would be able to accu-
mulate enough disposable income to go. But they also knew that St. Francis
would understand and wait patiently as long as necessary to receive what was
owed to him by FAtima.
Four years later, after saving tiny amounts periodically from their wages
and selling several of the small animals their families raised, the women
had enough money. Six months before the festival they contacted Sr. An-
tonio and reserved two places on his truck. The night before it was to leave,
amid joyous retellings of their own experiences by friends and relatives, the
two women carefully packed food, a small stove, their hammocks, clothes
and the wood carving of a leg that Francisco, Fitima's mate, had made for
her to deposit at the shrine as a votive offering attesting to the miracle cure
by the saint. Other companions, unable to make the trip this time, asked
them to carry small gifts to the shrine. At six AM the following morning
the women arrived by mule cart to meet the truck at the designated place
in the small municipality of Regeneradao in the interior of the northeastern
Brazilian state of Piaui. Joining the other passengers, they were at last on
their way.
For the next four days the travelers bounced uncomfortably across the
dry, barren moonscape known as the sertiao, a semi-desert the size of France
and Spain. There had been no rain that year, or the previous one. The river-
beds were dry and the few plants that managed to sprout withered quickly
due to the lack of water. The livestock already showed the signs of danger and
more than a few carcasses were strewn along the roadside. For the remainder
of the trip the driver stopped the truck only for the passengers to prepare
and eat meals, relieve themselves, rest in the late afternoon heat and sleep at
night. He went through the towns and settlements along the way, but five flat
tires had delayed their arrival at the destination.
Fatima was not consciously

pilgrimage tradition in Christ
nia. The moment she boarded
normal, every day social realit
inal state (Turner 1969: 96).
and between social worlds."7 W
with their fellow passengers,
them during the trip. The cou
when they departed and the s
go. No anti-structure was fo

occurred with pilgrims to the
1978). Interaction was to be pr
No social transformation in th
Christian Pilgrimage: A M
Pilgrimage has its roots in
sacred places did not become i
fall of the Roman Empire, lo
religion. While its importan
the Reformation when the fo
it was still a vital element in t
Iberian peninsula when, in th
they embarked on the conqu
and specifically, for our pu
pilgrimage was to be a centr
Portuguese.
A pilgrimage is not an isolated event or activity and cannot be fully under-
stood as such.8 In its preReformation, or medieval form it is part of a complex
of understandings central to which is a belief in and a reverence for saints,
supernatural beings who at one time are believed to have lived as mortals on
earth. "Reborn" and elevated to everlasting life in heaven by an all-powerful
creator God postulated to have control over all aspects of the universe, includ-
ing the destinies of those on earth, they are believed, as a "friends of God," to
be able to act as intermediaries with Him on behalf of supplicants on earth. As
Wilson (1983: 23) has phrased a position proclaimed in the official theology of
the Church, "...saint(s) might be seen as advocates pleading causes before a
stern judge, as mediators, as go-betweens, as intriguers or wire-pullers at the
court of Heaven ... "9.
Humans pray to the saints using words in which they petition their help
with material as well as spiritual problems. Attaining supernatural interven-
tion in our (material) world is referred to as a miracle. Miracles, as Augustine
of Hippo was so influentia

proof of the sanctity of t
ward 199o: 62). Saints may b
help is most likely to be obt
age is a visit to the shrine o
intensity is believed to be p
The saints are assumed to b
ally disposed to assist (pot
earth. To increase the proba
tioner invariably will make
assistance to visit the saint's
have masses said, light candl
resentation of the miracle,
vow and deposited as a votive
abilities and accomplishme
As Queiroz (1973: 86) obse
devotee is one of reciprocity
thing in exchange." For it to
be familiar with the saint, h
ment, and include them in t
to reciprocate the offer.
Vows to the saints are mad
(discharged) unless and unt
and only then is there an ob
the devotional and other act
The Cult of the Saints a

Christianity was brought t
sentatives of the Portuguese
conquest and founding of
religion until the establishm
century." Christian practice
have reminded us, was mos
the founders of the great
tion of sugar cane, the mi
boom activities, had their
were built in out of the way
gin for some good fortune o
result of an intercession in
Priests, who always were in
formed baptisms, wedding
and other dependents when
activity practiced in Brazil ov

tween a "believer" and a saint
served some time ago, popula
toward the saints and the Virgi
The saints venerated during th
were those brought from the O
endar. The pau-de-arara carry
from Regeraqio was on its way
is located in the municipality o
Assisi) is known by the inhabit
Chagas, St. Francis of the woun
Caninde is a municipality of 2
the sertdo about ioo kilometers
4 degrees south of the equator.
enheit, but since there are few
much hotter. In good years ra
In the 198os, when this study
neighborhood of 60,ooo, with f
center that, as in all Brazil, is
Approximately one million pe
during the ten days of the festi
The shrine to St. Francis in Caninde is believed to have been the fruit
of the efforts of Francisco Xavier de Medeiros, a Portuguese sergeant major
traveling in the area in the late eighteenth century who, for reasons not re-
ported, wished to build a chapel on the banks of the Caninde river in honor
of the saint after whom he had been named. He is said to have written to the
three brothers who owned the land asking them to donate it as patrimony for
a church. When they refused, the supernatural intervention that has come
to be associated with the site is reported to have begun. One of the brothers
took sick and died shortly thereafter. Then, following a brief illness, a second
brother also died. When the third brother took ill, he immediately made the
donation Medeiros had requested. He is reported to have recovered as mys-
teriously as he had become ill and his brothers had died (Greenfield 1990: 3).
When construction was delayed due to one of the periodic droughts that
plague this part of the country, a statue of the saint was brought to the site.
Reports began to circulate about the sick or injured recovering "miracu-
lously." People from surrounding neighborhoods began visiting the statue.
Those "blessed" left gifts and the first church was constructed. Additional
donations made over the years were applied to build the numerous addi-
tions. Today a large basilica stands in an area near the river and forms the geo-
graphic and symbolic center of the municipality. Most public and commer-
cial buildings are situated to the north of it, across from the praya, or square.
From the square the streets radiate out in all directions with those with more
substantial buildings closest to the

and up the incline to the urban pe
and marginal commercial establi
Brazilian religious centers and bro
During the period of the festival
circles. At its center is the basilica
outside it, along the river, is the g
pilgrims go to wash, drink the "ho
with them to be shared by friends
from the grotto is believed to hav
Between the basilica and the stall
orabilia are sold is an area where u
These include a museum owned
and a zoological garden. Nearby
snap pictures of pilgrims dressed i
offerings standing next to a cardb
of religious commerce is a secular
soft), and most mass-produced
purchased. Next are games of ch
with a huge Ferris wheel, other
there are bars, dance halls and vai
cal houses of prostitution are pictu
to the profane both symbolically
Preparing for the Pilgrims

Starting about six weeks before the
on September 24th, the Franciscan
called abrigos that will house many
hotels and private dwellings. They
places to bathe, and facilities on w
able to cook the food they bring t
The town merchants prepare the
specifically for the occasion. Town
nicipalities seeking to earn extra m
scraps of wood and old pieces of car
the state capital and main commer
When the trucks arrive, crosses,
cis, the Virgin and other saints ap
ages, clothing, ribbons, toys and t
in Sao Paulo that are to be found i
try are unloaded and await the pilg
Many of the residents who h

land rent their primary dwell
the festival. Some only will m
to sell food and beverages, o
Most people who live in or n
the festival to sustain them t
Paying a Promessa at the

When the truck from Regen
beaten old road on which it
highway that led into Canin
de-arara bringing pilgrims fr
moving lanes contained buse
tomobiles, animal drawn veh
arrived on bicycles with still
a vow, on foot. While most o
and neighboring states, smalle
and Rio de Janeiro and a ha
America.
The majoritywere agricultural laborers, domestic servants, or unemployed.

Of some two thousand people interviewed in the 198os, one third reported
having neither land nor homes of their own, but rather lived as sharecroppers
on properties belonging to large estates. Half reported moving regularly in the
hope of finding better living conditions (Barreto 1986: 3). Although primar-
ily poor, as are the vast majority of Brazilians, all social classes and racial and
ethnic categories are represented in Caninde during the festival. The number
of men and women are approximately equal and small numbers of children
frequently accompany their parents.
The first stop made by the truck carrying Maria de Fatima was at one of
the abrigos (shelters) prepared by the Franciscan brothers and located close
to the basilica. Finding space available there, the occupants of the truck hung
their hammocks on hooks, stored the food and other items they brought
with them and changed their clothing. Then, although it was late in the after-
noon and they had not eaten since early morning, the two women left for the
basilica. They passed a photographer and Fatima stopped to wait on a line to
have her photograph taken standing next to a cutout representation of the
saint. She was now wearing the typical brown habit of St. Francis and hold-
ing the votive offering her husband had made. A half hour later the women,
still on their way to the basilica, entered the sala de milagres, a large room
on whose walls are hung thousands of pictures of pilgrims and the material
representations of the miracles conferred on them by the saint. Fatima placed
one copy of the Polaroid picture ju

would keep and place next to her
to deposit her ex-voto (votive offe
bargain she made to the saint. Th
carvings placed there by other pilg
a stepladder and then stretch to re
items in the container were beau
sioned in fulfillment of a vow, o
boo, clay or cloth crudely fashione
Near the sala de milagres Fatim
a beautician stood sheering the h
de Sousa, wearing a brown habit
traveled with her husband, a law
the capital of the state of Rio Gran
For their stay in Caninde the Sous
and they took their meals in restau
for breakfast and meat and vegeta
dinner. Clarice had been diagnos
cancer. She prayed to St. Francis
would make the pilgrimage to Can
candles at his shrine, and if she w
length hair. Certainly the educat
recovery should be attributed to
also be that it was the intercession
rice had made a vow, a bargain wit
She had paid what she owed to the
she was paying her debt to the sai
Brazilians, if the have the means,
they are hurt or take sick or they
alternative healers. But many pray
tions and other treatments work
supernatural.
A young woman from Jodo Pessoa, capital of the neighboring state of
Paraiba, stood nervously in front of Fitima. The previous year Angela had
been too vain to part with her long, beautiful locks in spite of having prom-
ised to cut them. When her severe headaches returned, even worse than be-
fore, she was ready to give the saint his due. This year she would complete
her obligation.
"Do you think that St. Francis will forgive you?" we asked her.
"Yes he will," she responded, "because he has forgiven more than this. I have
faith, I believe that he will."
It was now Fitima's turn to cut

both sadness and gratitude. Of
but it felt good to be completing
finished, FAtima took the bag
Angela before her, and others to
to place it on top of the ever-gro
very personal and emotional part
the two returned to the abrigo t
rice and beans that would be the
exhausted, and feeling safe in th
The festival was already alive w
next morning. A line of people w
bathing facilities. Their breakfas
amounts of sugar, had to wait
boil the water. Drinking hurried
to the basilica. As they entered t
fice to inquire about masses and
man from Fortaleza who had mad
He was now circling the churc
with her left leg. She had gone
grafts and a cast, she almost lo
was well thanks to God and St.
his mother's behalf, promising
pilgrimage and walk around the c
Completing his second turn, he
had been difficult and he was tired and sore. His mother had recovered and
he was fulfilling his debt to the saint who had cured her. He would now be
able to return home satisfied and in peace.
At the small Church office a volunteer provided FAtima and Laura with
a schedule of masses. When asked the date of her last confession, Fatima
replied that it had been more than to years. She was instructed to attend a
preparation class and forty-five minutes later, after the class was over, the
two women took their places on a line that stretched the length of the basilica
to wait their turn to enter the confessional booth. After acknowledging their
sins, they returned to the abrigo to prepare and eat the rice and beans that
would be their lunch. It was early afternoon when they finished cleaning
and storing their possessions. Finally it was their opportunity to attend a
mass and they excitedly rushed off to the basilica. Following the service, they
joined with others to walk the Stations of the Cross. The symbolic represen-
tation of the route taken by Jesus through Jerusalem to Calvary is laid out on
a wide, tree-lined avenue that runs from just outside the basilica to a second
church on a rise at the northern end of the town.
When Fitima bent to pick up a ro

would place on her head to increas
into Sergio, a young man who also w
made the trip on foot from Fortalez
sity. Sergio had twice failed the vest
Brazilians must pass to gain universit
time he made a vow to St. Francis.
ence, the grateful pilgrim was fulfill
supernatural benefactor.
There was not a cloud in the sky, t
cal sun, and the ad hoc groups of s
ceeded solemnly along the avenue cha
reached the second church, the tw
purchased from a girl sitting on th
filled a bucket at a standpipe and i
business.
The two cousins proceeded to the museum where they gazed at the daz-
zling jewels and garments used by the Franciscan brothers in their services.
Wandering next through the stalls they admired the many items, religious
and secular, few of which they could afford to purchase. They did buy some
things commissioned by friends and relatives, plus one or two small souve-
nirs for their mates and children. Exhausted, they returned to the abrigo to
wash, use the lavatory, rest and start preparing for their evening meal of rice
and beans. The secular festival, with its games of chance and other entertain-
ments, enticed them, but as women traveling alone, they passed up the bars,
dancing establishments and other high points available to men. Returning to
the abrigo at about 9 PM, they were too excited to sleep and instead sat for
several hours chatting and sharing the pleasure they were experiencing.
Laura and Fatima were awakened the following morning by the sunlight
and noises of the street. The now familiar routine of long lines for the use
of the lavatory and baths, succeeded by the making of a fire to heat their
meager breakfast of sweetened coffee was this day followed by walking to the
grotto of Nossa Senhora de Lourdes where they washed in its curative waters.
They drank and filled the plastic containers they brought with them that they
would bring back to RegeneraCao for friends and relatives.
The Franciscan monastery, where hundreds of pilgrims formed a line in
the courtyard waiting to see and spend a few minutes with a life-sized statue
of St Francis just outside the door, was the next adventure. Fatima's turn
came after one hour's wait. Like the others before her, she conversed aloud
with the saint in a low voice. First expressing her gratitude, she soon con-
fided several very personal matters, as she might do with her cousin or best
friend and requested help with additional problems. An emotional Laura
then quickly led her into a sm

where a group of pilgrims sto
ner room. A rumor was circulat
alive. In fact, he had never di
said to be holding the saint as
ing him "for themselves." Wh
frustrated and disappointed, w
the task of making their rice an
they wandered off, this time to
next few hours looking at the
before. They giggled and laughe
ing on the magnificent colors o
assumed by other animals. Their
monkeys, in front of whose c
the afternoon. As the time fo
rapidly walked back to the abrig
them aboard the waiting truck.
RegeneraCdo. During the next f
uncomfortable truck as it bou
sertao, the women shared with
experienced. They were as seemi
others were of them. When the
said to each other to the membe
and close friends.
Pilgrimage and Healing

The vast majority of the visitors to the shrine of St. Francis in Caninde like
most of their coreligionists who visit pilgrimage shrines elsewhere, are there
to thank the saint and to discharge the obligation incurred to him for help-
ing them to recover from an illness or injury. In a study conducted in the
late 1950s, Father Joly, for example, found that 80 percent of the pilgrims to
Canind" were there because they had been ill (Hooneart 1987: 5).
In another study done almost three decades later-conducted between
1984 and 1988-Professor Adalberto Barreto and his students in the De-
partment of Social Medicine of the Federal University of Ceara collected
more than 80,000 ex-votos and examined and classified them. More than 86
percent represented parts of the body that had "malfunctioned." Of these,
almost five thousand showed wounds, cuts or openings in the skin, 2,350
more were protuberances indicating edemas or growths, 1,400 represented
deformities of the skin and other dermatological problems, 800 were breaks
and fractures while another 325 represented deformities that had been "made
right" (Barreto n.d.). Fewer than 1

ness and healing.
The pilgrims we interviewed ra
They spoke instead of impedimen
the inability to walk that prevent
assumption was that their sufferin
for the commission of a sin (Zalua
the saints may be invoked to int
In Brazil, according to Leers (197
autonomy that enables them to o
sponse to appeals by the living. H
God delegating to the saints the
help sufferers.
A promessa, according to Azeve
ism ... in which.. .individual and
efficacy in pleasing the 'saints,' in
peals of their devotees in cases of
of the devotee, Oliveira adds, "The
natural allies the faithful can coun
other, and a source of permanent
obtain solutions to the problems
They are like rich godfathers, "wh
favors and the recipients of praye
sions, songs and fireworks" (Leers
This presence of a non-human f
closeness, an almost familiarity
could say that the saints penetrate
tering into their problems, sharin
their business affairs, their marri
known between the saint and his w
With respect to Caninde, Cavalc
The relationship between the pilgr

between poor men and authority in
diary. Just as the resident of a neig
councilman, the pilgrim gets to God
The saint then may be viewed as

cian, a fazendeiro (landowner), o
helps those in need confront the h
of difficulty, recourse to the saint
Brazilian northeast" (Barreto 198
Pilgrimage and Modernit

The pilgrimage described ab
saints are not vestigial cultura
society that will disappear with
are found all over Brazil, from
trialized urban centers of Rio
are making vows and visiting
in Brazilian history. Furtherm
whose shrines new generation
tion of the old, still vital, Cath
and respected local figures wh
heaven where they can cont
official church may never le
saints,many of who were me
and Greenfield 2003). As wor
graves, or shrines to venerate
invoking the help of these ne
From Catholic Hegemony

For almost four centuries, fro
the early sixteenth century,
establishment of the Republic
Catholicism-practiced more
at their shrines than partic
official religion. Early on, the
of their varied, but mostly
of worship with and/or und
spectrum of syncretic religiou
religions.'3 Shortly after it w
known also in Brazil as Kard
a viable (and competitive) be
be practiced legally under the
twentieth century, in the sub
Macumba, the name given to
with Spiritism to create Umba
parent religions as it entered
zilian religious marketplace
Protestantism and specifically
competition.
In Part II we offer examples fr

some descriptive data from Umban
importance of the model of patr
how full participation by devote
petitioner's obtaining from the s
PART II
Umbanda: An Exchange with

At 5:30 PM on a Thursday evening
woman of 22 with dark eyes, long
ing up the work area where she
setting the hair of middle-class cli
salon located in the still fashion
Celestina was hurrying to leave be
the shop, who liked to sit around
after the doors were closed to cust
later in the evening that she did no
workers. Celestina had to be at t
located a considerable distance away
of the city before 7:30 PM. The rid
hour and there would be a long lin
For six months now, since her
was going through a difficult peri
sessions at thePr Umbanda center.
completed the training program
and she enjoyed the work and was
some personal problems. She wa
boyfriend and had developed pains
to stand on her feet all day and
She had gone to the public healt
ment) where she lived with her pa
waiting for several hours, she r
handed a prescription for costly m
near work. Still in pain and unab
her problems to her sister. Lourd
to the Casa de Vov6 Maria on th
public would be held, and seek the
related how she had been helped w
(saint mother) and her preta velh
of her friends.
Celestina resisted at first, but

panied her sister to the sessio
side of the family residence tha
being cleansed with incense and
woman in her late fifties, dress
supported by several heavily sta
dance and clap her hands. As her
footed steps moving her sidew
half a dozen white-clad men an
also clothed in white, soon wer
teen people on bare benches b
swayed to the beat of the rhyth
The words of the song that ope
God and then to "Our Lady." P
from African orixds to Kardecis
followed. A Catholic blessing w
The Spirit's Book by Allan Karde
After a brief pause the lead wo
time it was a ponto (song of inv
ing him to come down and be w
dancers began to spin rapidly. H
A dark-skinned woman and a t
ing behind the circle of dance
the man's wristwatch and othe
movements as his gyrating body
participants understood that t
wards was the sign that the de
now manifest in his "horse" and
was greeted with his own specia
In a salutation, the spirit touch
her, continuing to dance and th
tern was repeated with others
their spirits; Some two hours
in the service after which Vov6
is named, incorporated in the
ended the visitors, under the di
to be attended by the spirit.
As Celestina approached the cor
with the preta velha, she was st
the troubled young woman saw
instantaneously transformed i
towards her, the m.e-de-sant
eyes. She appeared several i

the room. Her agile body w
seemed to be almost useless,
hind an altar with statues an
would use a cane that was r
with whom she was about t
when she arrived, now seem
An assistant struck a matc
raised it towards her mouth.
raw rum that Mae Edna w
Maria, however, she consum
age along with an eight-oun
the smoking and drinking la
to experience no negative eff
After taking a few puffs on
hol, the figure asked the anx
ily accented words were spok
ion in style and not part of
in Brazil. An assistant transl
lestina told the figure about
The possessed medium prom
her symptoms, but added t
Celestina would have to bri
mals and items enumerated
to several hundreds of doll
young woman tried to put th
her sister's prodding would n
penses and accompany Celest
to take several months before the beautician could accumulate the amount
necessary to purchase what was required.
When she and Lourdes eventually returned to the center late on the date
Mae Edna had indicated to Lourdes, the medium already was in trance and
so it was the preta velha who took the offerings from Celestina. She informed
the client that her "paths were closed" and that today's session would help to
open them leading to improvement in her situation. The possessed medium
took the animals and collaborating with several other assistants, who also
were possessed, sacrificed them by ritually slitting their throats with a special
knife. Celestina helped prepare what she was told were the favorite foods
of the specific orixais/saints and exus, who in return for the offering, would
heal her. The preta velha informed Celestina that she possessed medium-
ship ability and for the cure to be permanent she would have to "develop"
it. Only later did the young client grasp the implication of this. In order to
become well physically and em

learn to receive the spirits of
criangas. She would be oblige
the religion's project of provi
so that they might cure or ot
In brief, she would have to un
the end of which she would
establish her own terreiro and receive and treat her own clients.
In the days following the ritual, Celestina's back pains mysteriously disap-
peared. She was able to stand on her feet all day long, perform her duties at
the beauty shop and engage in other activities with friends in the evenings all
without discomfort. The break-up with her boyfriend turned less traumatic
after she learned that he had been unfaithful to her with another woman. So
tonight Celestina would be returning to the Casa de Vov6 Maria to make the
commitment to be trained to serve the spirits. Some day she would be able to
help others as she herself had been helped.
Mae Edna did not like her filhos and filhas-de-santo (saint sons and daugh-
ter) to arrive late at sessions. And since Celestina was to become a participat-
ing member of the center, she wished to be there before the ritual began, in
time to change from the short skirt and colorful blouse she wore for work
into the clean white outfit with its numerous starched petticoats that was
packed in the worn old valise she had borrowed from her mother. It also
contained the special outfit Celestina had recently purchased; the costume
of Iemanjai, the goddess Mae Edna told her was one of the "owners of her
head." Celestina was planning to wear it for the first time tonight, putting
it on just before the ritual song invoking the spirit was sung. She hoped that
Iemanja would honor her by incorporating in her for the first of what she
hoped would be many times."8
Other Competitors in the Religious Marketplace

Had Celestina not obtained relief from her back pains and felt that she had
been helped with her other problems, she certainly would not have gone
back to the Umbanda center. But her quest for help would not have been
over. She would not have to become resigned to the discomfort and suffer-
ing even after unsuccessful medical treatment and a disappointing encounter
with Umbanda. Confiding her problems to some other relative, a friend, a
co-worker, or a mere acquaintance might have led her to one of the other
competing religious groups. She could have been directed to Spiritist healer-
mediums, or the head of one of the "more African" religious centers, or per-
haps an Evangelical church. Had she spoken with someone who previously
had had success with Spiritism, the spirit of a deceased doctor incorporated
in the body of a Kardecist m

the young beautician migh
ability that should be develo
and this view of the world a
woman would be committ
receive its spirits so as to he
of providing charity. Inste
being helped by the preta ve
Dr. Fritz "9 or other healing
If Celestina had spoken to a
have sought the assistance of
her head." And were the ritu
instead would be committed
she would learn to care for t
tinue to care for her. In br
have become an active mem
Batuque house or terreiro. A
of one of the many Evangeli
been that taken by one of
mants in her examination o
humiliated and desperate aft
took sick leaving their childr
tes (as Protestants are know
to her husband, enabled her
cured her, she would becom
diately found work and she
Church, as might have Celest
Had the young beautician
do Reino de Deus (IURD), an
the largest Protestant deno
the country, her experienc
become members of the IU
being cured, or otherwise
are offered a second excha
perity doctrine, according
(material) abundance, IUR
mostly poverty-stricken ur
they agree to serve God, w
ing a tithe, and pay first. T
to the church member, reve
fulfilling his part of the b
Should the request for mat
the disappointed congregant t

petition God harder, by whi
The relationship between th
asymmetrical reciprocity, or
For Pentecostals, as for oth
Chestnut (1997: 96) generaliz
about pilgrimage: "Reflectin
Brazilian social, political, an
ates as a sort of divine patron
loyalty."
In sum, like so many Brazilians, Celestina could go from one (compet-
ing) religious group to the next that offers its specific form of participation
and devotion in return for supernatural assistance with the many problems
most people are regularly faced with. Unlike the situation prior to the end
of Catholic hegemony when the vast majority of Brazil's inhabitants lived
in rural areas like Fatima and knew only of the Catholic saints, the greatly
increased number of urban residents today have available to them a range
of supernatural beings, each provided by a competing faith, with whom they
may offer devotion and membership in exchange for (first) being helped
with their numerous problems.
The Social Organization of Brazil

Pilgrimage has not been the only aspect of Brazilian culture that has been ne-
glected in the recent flurry of studies addressing change. Another, to which
Gross directed his analysis of pilgrimage, is the study of Brazilian social
structure20 and specifically relations of patronage and clientage. In one of
the few relatively recent major works on the organization of Brazilian society,
anthropologist Roberto DaMatta (1991), describes and analyzes a hierarchi-
cally ordered system of relationships that are consistent with and provide
a distinctive set of social arrangements for a political economy in which a
small elite control most of the national wealth and power. Brazil has one of
the most skewed distributions of wealth and income of the nations of the
world. As a result, the vast majority of its inhabitants, referred to by DaMatta
as the "masses," are able to gain access to the resources needed for their sur-
vival only thru social relationships with members of the dominating elite.
To attain sociological personhood in Brazil, DaMatta (1991: 9-1o) writes,
requires membership in a family, participation in relations of god-parent-
hood, friendship, kinship and political and economic patronage. Those un-
able to attain such relationships, he adds, remain individuals, "subject to
the impersonal laws governing the exploitation of labor and the decrees and
regulations governing the masses who have no relationship to the powerful.
That," he continues, "is why the

set of impersonal laws imposed a
9 emphasis in the original).
Membership in a family, for t
adopted) into what is only an u
tion, provides each individual wit
radiate outward by means of kinsh
lationships of patronage and client
the state and economics do not p
these primarily vertical bonds an
of the social order gain access to t
to obtain what they need.
In Brazil, writes DaMatta (1991: 1
We have charity, not philanthropy

ity that is aimed much more at soc
reinforce the "vertical ethics" that li
of patronage and morality, and we
pect of hierarchical relations rather
constituted ofstrong and weak, rich a
provides the other with what it doe
Certainly the specifics of patron-c

same as they were when described
centuries (see Faoro 1958; Nunes
anthropologists and political scient
dictatorship (Forman 1975; Galjar
1973; Hutchinson 1966; Roniger 1
sist. Gross demonstrated how thes
economic and political life of Br
bolically in the realm of the supe
ritual rural Brazilians most frequen
was in fact a system of relations o
with the supernatural. Our data,
a similar conclusion. The African
tant religious groups in the urba
of patronage and clientage in whic
offering access to different super
provide resources-ranging from he
ing (Brown 1994; Greenfield and P
Although Brazil, as we have seen,
lication of Gross' paper more tha
and clientage persist and are still r
Whether this is understood

cred sphere in which people ac
(1971: 129) proposed, or as th
secular sphere as others would
presently competing for fol
place organize relationships
and the supernatural in ter
ritual this most important sy
students of Brazilian culture
the intimate tie between rel
between ritual practice and re
Notes
1. As, for example the especially valuable Os Cavalheiros do Born Jesus by Ru-
bem Fernandes (1986) and O Sertaio das Romarias by Carlos Steil (1996). See also
King (2005) and the other chapters in the Pilgrimage and Healing volume edited by
Dubisch and Winkelman (2005).
2. Reflecting this reality, most studies of Brazilian society during the past several
decades have focused on the changes that have been and are continuously taking
place. While we fully recognize the importance of the major upheavals and trans-
formations occurring, and do not question their significant impact on the society
and the lives of its members, our interest here is not on what is new or changing,
but rather on continuities in traditional cultural patterns. As anthropologists, our
concern is with both continuity and change in cultural practices in society. Here our
purpose is to show that relations of patronage and clientage that have long character-
ized social relations in Brazil have not disappeared as a result of all the changes taking
place, but rather have been incorporated, at times in modified form, as part of the
change, in the new, alternative religions that are competing with once hegemonic
Roman Catholicism in the Brazilian religious marketplace. For the most part this is a
point that has not been examined in the literature on these religions.
3. See, for example, Turner (1967, 1969, 1974; Turner and Turner 1978) with his
focus on performance and the application of Van Gennip's model of transition, and
the criticism by Eade and Sallnow and collaborators (1991) who emphasize compet-
ing discourses.
4. We do this not because we think the other issues are not important and worthy
of study, but because social relations in Brazil are is still poorly understood and that
in his analysis, Gross had taken significant steps towards their clarification.
5. Portions of the description of the pilgrimage to Canind6 presented in Part I
are taken from Pilgrimage and Healing in Northeast Brazil by Sidney M. Greenfield
and Antonio Mourdo Cavalcante from Pilgrimage and Healing by Jill Dubisch and
Michael Winkelman, editors.

permission of the University o
6. Maria de Fatima Batista is
of several informants into this
characters also are composites
7. Interesting insights into A
by individuals and groups into
the basis for his examination o
of Thom's mathematical model
8. It is unfortunate that in w
cal book on the subject, Victor
Culture (1978), did just that w
focus on the implications of t
shrines of Christendom. The
pilgrimage from the cult of t
a disservice to the reader who
ancient and medieval form.
9. All of the metaphors were used.
io. "One feature, above all," writes Sanchis ((1983: 266), "characterizes the devo-
tion paid to [the] saints,. .., and it is also a distinguishing feature not only of the
[pilgrimage] festival but of popular religion generally, and that is the vow."
11. Sixty-seven years after national independence in 1822.
12. This is to differentiate him in the minds of his Brazilian followers from the
Italian saint, thereby making him their own.
13. Variously called Candomble, Xang6, Macumba, Tambor de Minas, Batuque,
etc., to mention only a few of the better-known appellations.
14. After Allan Kardec its codifier.
15. Celestina de Aratijo Santos, like Maria de Fatima Batista in Part I, is not the
name of an actual person, but rather a composite of many we have met at over the
years at Umbanda centers. See footnote 6.
16. Believed by some in the room to be equivalent of the Roman Catholic St.
Jerome.
17. Although all work is done as charity, without charge, the items needed, such as
animals to sacrifice to the spirits, special clothing, etc., can be quite expense.
18. Orixds such as Iemanjai do not incorporate in all Umbanda centers, but only
in those considered "more African" which tend to be frequented by the lower classes.
19. Adolph Fritz was a medical doctor who is said to have served in the German
army during World War I. His spirit is believed to have incorporated in a number
of different Kardecist healer-mediums during the past half century and performed
surgeries without the use of anesthesia or antisepsis. Reports of these at times spec-
tacular operations in the media have made him notorious throughout Brazil.
20. We take social structure to mean the "intricate system of rules and associated
beliefs and practices constituting a specific and unique web of interpersonal relation-
ships that in fact make a society made up of persons and not just a conglomeration of
human individuals" (Klass 2003: 32). See Radcliffe-Brown 1952 (1940) for the original
formulation.
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Pilgrimage and Patronage in Brazil: A Paradigm for Social Relations and Religious Diversity

Author(s): Sidney M. Greenfield and Antonio Mourão Cavalcante

In a paper on pilgrimage to the shrine of Bom Jesus da Lapa in the state of

Luso-Brazilian Review 43:2 63

and Latin America but in other a

liefs and ritual practices, sinc

A Pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Francis in Caninde

In the weeks to follow Fi

Fatima was not consciously

go. No anti-structure was fo

of Hippo was so influentia

The Cult of the Saints a

activity practiced in Brazil ov

substantial buildings closest to the

Preparing for the Pilgrims

Many of the residents who h

Paying a Promessa at the

The majoritywere agricultural laborers, domestic servants, or unemployed.

one copy of the Polaroid picture ju

It was now Fitima's turn to cut

When Fitima bent to pick up a ro

then quickly led her into a sm

Pilgrimage and Healing

right" (Barreto n.d.). Fewer than 1

The relationship between the pilgr

The saint then may be viewed as

Pilgrimage and Modernit

From Catholic Hegemony

In Part II we offer examples fr

Umbanda: An Exchange with

Celestina resisted at first, but

towards her, the m.e-de-sant

eyes. She appeared several i

become well physically and em

Other Competitors in the Religious Marketplace

in the body of a Kardecist m

the disappointed congregant t

The Social Organization of Brazil

That," he continues, "is why the

We have charity, not philanthropy

Certainly the specifics of patron-c

Whether this is understood

Michael Winkelman, editors.

Azevedo, Thales de. "Popular Cat

Greenfield, Sidney M. "The Pragmatics of Conversion in the Brazilian Re

- . "Turner and Anti-Turner in the Image of Christian Pilgrimage in Bra

- . "Domestic Crises, Schools, and Patron Clientage in Southeastern

-. "Patronage, Politics and the

Mariz, Cecilia L.Coping with Pov

- . "Caciquismo and Coronelismo: Contextual Dimensions in Patron Broker-

gious Sociology, Folklore and Hi

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