Umbanda is a syncretic Brazilian religion that originated in Rio de Janeiro in the 1920s. Combining elements of African, Catholic, and Spiritist beliefs and practices, Umbanda has developed into a unique religion with its own rituals, spiritual entities, and cosmology. Umbanda emerged in the context of Brazil’s rich cultural diversity, characterized by the second largest Black population on the planet after Nigeria, Indigenous peoples, citizens of European descent and millions of multiracial individuals. During the late 19th and early 20th... Read more