𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝘂𝗯𝗮 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗹

The Yoruba were one of the main ethnicities among the Africans that were captured and enslaved in Africa and brought to Brazil by slave traders. They were brought mainly from port towns in Oyo, Dahomey and Benin, with whom the Portuguese and Brazilians had longstanding trade and political connections.

Whereas they weren’t a majority, in fact quite far from it, they were certainly one of the most culturally influential among the black people living in Brazil, especially in religious and linguistic matters. In Brazil they were usually known as nagôs until the late 19th century.

In Brazilian cities such Salvador, the first colonial capital of Brazil, the Yoruba influence, dating back to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, is still much tangible. This gives birth to the Òrìsà-worshipping people of Brazil.

The African slaves from the west, carried along their Yoruba religion with them when they were brought to Brazil. This religion is referred to as Candomblé by Afro-Brazilians — a religion that seeks harmony with nature.

It is a fusion of African religions combining Yoruba, Fon and Bantu cultures but largely dominated by Yoruba Òrìsà worship. The worship of this religion is carried out in religious centres called terreiros. At the hem of affairs are priestesses, known as or priests, pais de santo(father of saints). The gigantic statues all around the temples are called the orixás (African gods) that accompanied the slaves from Africa to Brazil.

During the ceremonies, worshippers fall into all kinds of trances, which they believe is caused by the contact and interaction they have experienced with the deity. The Ooni of Ife frequently visits Brazil for the celebration of Yoruba festivals.

The nagôs and other West Africans were found throughout Brazil, but their largest concentrations were really in the Northeast of Brazil, particularly in Bahia, which has always been rightly considered the largest and most well known hub of African cultural, genetic and religious legacy in Brazil, which may also, at least partly, explain the disproportionate influence of the Yoruba people and culture in the Afro-Brazilian population’s history.

There are other variations of African traditional worship across Brazil, and this reflects the different beliefs brought by different groups of slaves from Africa.