2211 BRAZIL (Rio de Janeiro) - The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

Considered the biggest festival which occurs before Lent, with two million people per day on the streets, the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro begins on Friday and ends on Ash Wednesday. King Momo, who traditionally is a tall and fat man, is the one who begin the carnival. The Queen and up to 2 princesses have the duty to woo the revelry, along with the King Momo. The carnival parade is filled with revelers, floats and adornments from numerous samba schools which are located in Rio (more than 200, divided into 5 leagues).

0956 BRAZIL (Mato Grosso) - The female ritual of Yamurikumã

When the Portuguese arrived in South America in the 16th century, Brazil was inhabited by an estimated 2.4 million Amerindians, of more than 2,000 nations and tribes. Massacres, slavery and diseases brought by the Europeans have drastically reduced their number, so that today of the 200 million Brazilians, only about 817.000 classified themselves as indigenous (0.4%). Among these are the Xingu peoples, who live near the river with the same name, a tributary of the Amazon River. The Upper Xingu was heavily populated prior to European contact, but in 1950s only about 500 Xingu peoples were alive. The Villas-Bôas brothers visited the area beginning in 1946 and pushed for creating the Xingu National Park, which was established in 1961. The number of Xingu living here in 32 settlements has risen again to today over 3000 inhabitants, half of them younger than 15 years.

0608 BRAZIL (Santa Catarina) - A Tyrolean settlement in the south of Brazil

No, isn't a mistake! The overwhelming majority of the more than 5,000 inhabitants of Treze Tílias (Dreizehnlinden in German), a municipality located in the state of Santa Catarina, has Austrian ancestors. It was founded on 13 October 1933 by Andreas Thaler, former minister of agriculture in Austria, who managed, despite strong political opposition, to obtain funds and to persuade some impoverished peasant families from Tyrol and Vorarlberg to emigrate in Brazil, where to start a new life. He drowned in circumstances insufficient explained during a flood in 1939, but the emigration continued until 1959, when the Austrian economy has fully recovered.

0546 BRAZIL (Bahia) - "Acarajé as Sold by Baianas", a Brazilian treasure

As I said in a previous post, because today, March 8, is the International Women's Day, I will post four postcards depicting women from four continents. If the first one was from Europe (Macedonia), and the second from Africa (Morroco), the third will be from Americas.

The Brazilian Institute of National Historic and Artistic Patrimony (IPHAN) decided that among the most precious of Brazil's historic, cultural and artistic treasures, together with paintings, buildings, palaces and churches, must to stand also some immaterial treasures (15 so far), like traditional dances, country fairs, methods of making lace, musical instruments, childrens games, and... some special food items. In 2004, IPHAN chose acarajé for this list, but not only the dish itself, but also the way that it is prepared, the traditional clothing of the baianas (the women who sell it on the streets of Salvador, Bahia, mainly in the Historic Centre, named in Portuguese Pelourinho), linked to the rituals of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé (about which I wrote here), and the customary layout of accompaniments on the baianas' streetside tables, called tabuleiros. The traditional costume of the baianas, consists of turban, starched skirt of colourful pattern, shawl over the shoulder - or tied to the breast - bracelets and necklaces, is a symbol of their social and religious status.

510-513 BRAZIL - The Afro-Brazilian religions

Of the more than 193 million inhabitants of Brazil, about half describe themselves as Black (6.84%) or Brown (43.80%), i.e. have mixed ancestry, Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians. Each of these ancestors have come with their own religious beliefs, which during the Portuguese colonization were mixed, leading to the development of a diverse array of syncretistic practices. The Afro-Brazilian religions (as Umbanda, Candomblé, Batuque, Xangô, and Tambor de Mina), originally brought by black slaves shipped from Africa to Brazil, have even now many followers, concentrated mainly in large urban centers in the Northeast, such as Salvador, Recife, or Rio de Janeiro in the Southeast. These cults were persecuted throughout most of Brazilian history, because they were believed to be pagan or even satanic, but the republican government legalized all of them on the grounds of the separation between the State and the Church in 1889.

The Afro-Brazilian religions are based on the mythology, and the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practices of the Yoruba people, one of the largest ethnic groups of Native-Africa, who occupies parts of the modern states of Nigeria, Benin and Togo. Umbanda blends African religions with Catholicism, Spiritism, and considerable indigenous lore, while the others are based in the anima (soul) of the natural environment, the rituals involving the possession of the initiated by Orishas (spirits or deities that reflects one of the manifestations of God), offerings and sacrifices of the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdom, healing, dancing/trance, and percussion.

Because the religion developed semi-independently in different regions, among different ethnic groups, it evolved into several sects or nations (nações), distinguished by the set of worshiped deities, as well as the music and language used in the rituals. This division was influenced by the beneficent brotherhoods (irmandades) of Brazilian slaves organized by the Catholic Church in the 18th and 19th centuries. Candomblé temples are called houses (casas), plantations (roças), or yards (terreiros), the priesthood being organized into symbolic families. Each family owns and manages one house. In most Candomblé houses, the head of the family is a woman, the mãe-de-santo or ialorixá (mother-of-saint), seconded by the pai-de-santo or babalorixá (father-of-saint). According to Mapeamento dos Terreiros de Salvador, only in this city are 1,155 terreiros.

The Yoruba theogony enjoys a large Pantheon of Orishas, but I will mention only those who appear in my postcards:

● Xangô (Shangó, Ṣàngó, Changó, Chango, Nago Shango, Sogbo, Kibuco) - Lord of Justice; divinity of lightning, thunder, fire, sky father, represents male power and sexuality. Historically, he is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba, being the third king of the Oyo Kingdom prior to his posthumous deification.
Sincretism: Saint Jerome
Salutation: Kawô Kabiesilé
Day: Wednesday
Colors: red and white
Sign: Sagittarius
Instrument: oxé (two sided hatchet)

● Ossain (Ossaim, Ossanha, Ossanhê, Catende) - Lord of Magic Potions; the physician of African Religions, the owner of the medicinal plants, who releases the magical property of the leaves. The legend says that Oya (the god that controls the winds) shook her skirt and scattered the leaves, so other Orishas got some, but in general, they belong to Ossain. Ossain has a leg amputated, so he dances into one leg.
Sincretism: Saint Joseph (but also Saint Jude and Saint Kitts, according to other sources)
Salutation: Eu Eô (Ewé ó or Eueu)
Day: Saturday (or Thursday, according to other sources)
Colors: green and yellow, and the mixture of these, resulting a pale green
Instrument: seven iron spears with a dove on top

● Yemanjá (Yemojá, Yemonja, Yemalla, Yemana, Ymoja, Iemanjá, Janaína, Dandalunda) - Mother of the sea and the most of the other Orishas; she is the ocean, the patron deity of the fishermen and the survivors of shipwrecks, the feminine principle of creation, the spirit of moonlight, the essence of motherhood, and a protector of children.
Sincretism: Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes (Our Lady of Navigators)
Celebration (in Salvador, Bahia): December 8, the Festa da Conceição da Praia (Feast to Our Lady of Conception of the church at the beach)
Salutation: Odoiyá
Day: Friday
Colors: silver transparent, blue, and white
Instrument: Abebé (a silver fan)

● Obá (Ọba, Obbá) - Goddess of rivers, which figuratively represents the flow of time and life, but also goddess of love. She is traditionally identified as the first wife of Shango. She cutting off her ear to serve to her husband as food, because one of her co-wives has convinced her that this will secure Shango's attention. Once Shango sees the ear and realizes Obá has mutilated herself, he chases her from his house and into permanent exile.
Sincretism: Nossa Senhora das Neves (Our Lady of the Snows)
Salutation: Obá Xirê
Day: Saturday
Colors: red and white
Sign: Virgo
Instrument: spear and shield

0419 BRAZIL - Good Life

"Some years ago I fell in love with the art of photography", confesses the Brazilian Amarildo Correa in a self-presentation. "With photography I have the opportunity to travel, register emotions and feelings, meet people, places and cultures. These factors have let me see far beyond my day to day. When I look through my viewfinder I try to go beyond the simple recording of an image -  I must feel, capturing the essence of people and places. More important than the technique and camera that is used, I shoot with my heart, this is what motivates me to be in love with photography. I hope that through my pictures you can enjoy and share with me the beauty of our world and people that have crossed my way in this endless journey that is life."