Batuque

Batuque is a Portuguese word meaning ‘beating of the drums’. It has become a synonym for the African Diaspora Tradition known as ‘Nação’. Today, Batuque is the ‘official’ Afro-Brazilian tradition in southern Brazil and in the neighboring Spanish-speaking countries of Argentina and Uruguay and is widely (and openly!) practiced here in Brazil.

"It is in the varieties of Batuque nations that our religion finds

its completeness, its thoroughness and its axé"

Òògùndádegbe, priest

Historical background: an overview

Batuque is not a monolithic tradition; there are several branches or divisions known as ‘Nações’ (Portuguese for ‘Nations’). The word ‘nation’ is used to indicate the origin of a particular African-Brazilian tradition. Another term widely used is ‘Lado’, with the same meaning as Nação. It is said that there were several of these nations or ‘Lados’ but only a few survive at present.

Although African in origin, Batuque has developed into a distinct southern Brazilian religion of African roots. This phenomenon, by the way, has happened in all New World African religions, known as African Diasporic Religions(ADR) as opposed to the ‘pure’ African Traditional Religions (ATR) of the Continent.

Batuque is said to have entered the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul through the hands of Prince Custodio Joaquim from Ajuda, Benin, West Africa. He immigrated to Brazil through the harbor city of Rio Grande and then moved to other towns until he settled, years afterwards, in the capital city of Porto Alegre where his descendents can still be found. Prince Joaquim Custodio was a priest of Xapanã (Sapana), the deity of smallpox and diseases. Through him comes our legacy of the Jeje, Oyo, and Ijexá traditions. The pure Nàgó lineage came to us via African priests and priestesses brought as slaves thorugh the port city of Rio Grande, in southern Brazil. Another segment (lineage) comes from the Cabinda (Angola) region through the hands of Valdemar Antono dos Santos who was a priest of Kamuká Barualofina, a deity in the Thunder pantheon, later synchretized with the Nàgó Òrìña Ñàngó (Portuguese Xangô). The Cabinda tradition, or nação, is said to belong to this lineage.

Lineages

The following are the most known:

Jeje      From Dahomey, we have the Jeje nation. The word was first used by the Nàgó (Yoruba) pejoratively and means ‘foreigners’ in archaic Yoruba. The Jeje (aka Djedje or Gege) used to worship the Voduns as their pantheon and spoke Ewe, Fongbe and Mina as their languages (currently referred to as Ewe’Fon). The almost defunct Jeje nation of Batuque, now largely influenced by other nations, especially Ijexá, now adopts the Òrìñas as their pantheon.

Nagô (Nàgó)      The ‘pure’ Yoruba religious ‘Nation’ in mainstream Batuque. Their pantheon is the Yoruba Òrìñas and, like all other Batuque nations, accept the main twelve Òrìñas. There are only very few Nagô houses in southern Brazil and some of them have already taken a second lineage e.g. Nagô-Oyo or Nagô-Ijexá.

Oyo      A Yoruba-speaking nation, the Oyo has few adherents in Batuque. Xango/Shango is the patron Òrìña of this Nation. The pantheon is comprised of the very same Òrìñas as the Ijesha nation.

Ijexá      The most widespread nation of Batuque in southern Brazil. Its rituals are influencing the practice of all other nations. As a Nàgó nation, Ijexá originally worships the Òrìñas with Oshun as the patron Òrìña.

Cabinda      Originally from Cabinda and Angola, the Cabinda nation of Batuque no longer worships its minkisi/jinkisi but has adopted the Òrìña pantheon as its own.

Remarks: Because of the common rituals across the four standard nations in Batuque, it is not uncommon to see Houses that practice Batuque in hybrid ways e.g. Jeje-Ijexá or Jeje-Cabinda or Jeje-Nagô.