Some friends of mine have been asking me about paganism in Brazil. They wanted to know if there is anything else besides the famous offerings to Yemanjá on New Year's Eve. So I decided to create this site in order to answer all the questions people have asked me so far. Note that my knowledge is not flawless and this site is going to be edited over and over again. If you have any comments/suggestions/constructive criticism send the webcook an email.

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1) Something about Brazilian pagan heritage (please read this page)

As a Brazilian Wiccan, I was very pleased to find out people were interested in our pagan background. I will try to help  with the little knowledge I’ve gathered over three years.  I don’t know much about pagan practices in other South American countries, so I’m going to concentrate on Brazilian practices and hope somebody else helps you with Spanish America. :)

 First, you must remember that Brazil was a Portuguese colony and Portugal was Celtic land. Although Celtic culture was not as isolated there as it was in Ireland, archeological findings determined that there were at least four thousand Celtic settlements spread all over what is today Portuguese territory. In fact, the word Portugal means “Gaelic Port” and Morrigan was one of the Goddesses worshiped in that land. Many scholars believe that Brazil was named after a Celtic mythical island (HyBresil).

Contrary to what happened in Ireland, many other cultures influenced this area.  Cretans, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Suevi and Visigoths have also  inhabited what was lately called Lusitania.  These pagans had Goddesses and Gods of their own, a rich and tribal pantheon which was the result of these many influences.  Here are some of them:

Atégina - The Great Mother

Endovélico - Sun God and Healer

Trebaruna - Warrior and Protector Goddess

Bônconcios - Warrior God

Tongoenabiagus - Fertilization God

 Tanira - Goddess of the Arts

Nabica - Forest Fairy

Aernus - Lord of the Northern Winds

 Brigantés - Another Goddess of War and Protection <

 We all know how pagan beliefs survived even after Christianization, especially among the poor and country people. Portugal is no exception to this rule and many of today’s Christian rituals are based on pagan beliefs. Moreover, Portuguese kings managed to block Inquisition for a relatively long time, considering what was happening in Spain. Many people who practiced "witchcraft" in its many forms, especially Jewish Cabalists and Muslins, migrated to Portugal during the Spanish Inquisition. And they also migrated to Brazil, since this colony, contrary to Portugal, managed to stay free of permanent Inquisitional tribunals even during the period Spanish and Portuguese crowns were united. There were only a couple of Inquisitional visitations to Brazil, which was a very mild situation if compared to what was happening in Europe. This state of affairs allowed pagan beliefs to thrive in the colony even under the Church’s repression.

 You can find Celtic influence in many Portuguese-Brazilian festivals. They are especially strong in the Festas Juninas ( June Festivals), where people jump over bonfires,  act out  marriages and play a game involving a pole (it  is also a traditional time for love spells.)  In cities like Olinda, a huge male doll (The Midnight Man) searches for his female partner   (The Midday Woman) through the streets in Carnival. (Carnival, of course, is one of the main surviving pagan festivals in the whole world.)  Brazilian Northeastern folksongs sometimes sound a lot like its Irish counterparts. The first song played in “Gangs of New York” could have been a Brazilian Northeastern song. Buchada de Bode is a typical dish of Celtic origin.

One must add there was a large immigration of  Portuguese country people during the XIXth and XXth centuries to foster Brazilian economy. There was also a large inflow of Italian country people, who brought Stregheria with them. Other important groups were German and  Japanese small farmers who had been driven out of their lands as a result of industrialization. Shintoism is practiced by many Brazilian Japanese descendants.

 And that is only the tip of the iceberg, since we have been only considering white European/Asian emigration so far. African slaves brought their own beliefs with them. These beliefs mingled with Christian symbols and originated religions that were truly born in Brazil and were largely studied by the anthropologist Pierre Verger ( whom I highly recommend if you want have a deeper knowledge on African-Brazilian beliefs). Pierre Verger is particularly interesting because he fell in love with the religion he was studying and became a member of it. 

Note that according to some Brazilian Wiccans ,  and some of them have been members of these religions for most of their lives,  Candomblé and  Umbanda are actually Christian religions with only a residual paganism (much like the Christian June Festivals with the residual Celtic paganism I  mentioned above). Although they allow and believe in magic, they also have patriarchal, linear belief systems. These Wiccans sustain that those religions should not be romanticized or manipulated by Wicca -here or abroad - but respected and seen as independent belief systems with its own values and practices. They should not be taken for Wiccan-style, matrifocal religions. In fact, it is always important to note that Brazil IS NOT A PAGAN COUNTRY. Brazil has the LARGEST CATHOLIC POPULATION IN THE WHOLE WORLD. The country is mainly CATHOLIC, Christian and has always been a part of the not so romantic Western civilization. The idea of Brazil as an exotic and over-sexualized pagan society is nothing but a sad stereotype. Really.

There are also the many  Brazilian Native traditions, which have been practiced long before the Europeans arrived and are one of the main philosophical and religious bases of today’s Brazilian environmentalist movements. One of the main Wiccan authors in Brazil – the Dianic Mavesper Cy Ceridwen  – is going  to release a book on Brazilian Native beliefs. I can’t wait to read this book, since I know so little about the subject  ( I come from a Portuguese background and I don’t know much about other roots of Brazilian paganism).

2)Wicca in Brazil

Brazilian Wiccans are mainly concentrated in the large urban, industrialised areas such as  Rio de Janeiro, Brasília and especially São Paulo (note that 70-80% of Brazilian population is urban). The religion has been brought to the broad public by bestselling authors like the Romanian emigrant Mirella Faur, Claudiney Pietro, Claudio Quintino and Mavesper Cy Ceridwen. We also have our own traditions, like the Dianics of Brazil. We are also very familiar with authors such as Gardner, Sanders, Doreen Valiente, the Farrars, Laurie Cabot, Macha Nightmare, Starhawk, Scott Cunningan and  Z. Budapest. As far as I know, the religion has been practiced by Brazilian covens and solitary witches for at least thirty years. Wicca is growing very fast in Brazil, a country known for being comparatively tolerant when it comes to religion and rich in pre-Christian beliefs. Many Brazilian Wiccans are also deeply involved with campaigns for human rights, gender equality, environmental protection, poverty alleviation and religious tolerance.

3) Brazilian Santeria???

I've found many Wiccan sites in English where people say they have wonderful Brazilian spells. I can assure you that many of them are just the product of some teen's imagination. If somebody uses the term Brazilian Santeria to describe these spells, there is a 99,99% chance it is pure crap. Santeria is a Spanish American term and we don't use it here. If somebody talks about Brazilian Santeria when referring to Brazilian-African beliefs or religious practices they probably don't know much about Brazilian culture, let alone Brazilian pagan practices.

4) Amazônia

The famous rain forest was named after the river that crosses it. The Amazonas is the largest river in the whole world in terms of water volume and was named like that by the first Portuguese colonizers. When the Portuguese spotted the Native tribes along the river's margins. they  thought they were, in fact, seeing the Amazon women of the ancient legends. Another version of the story tells about a Spanish adventurer who fought against a fierce tribe solely composed of native women.

5) Recommended Links:

Pentáculo: Nice website created by Brazil's most famous Wiccan author, Claudiney Pietro.

Once again: Brazilians are not Hispanic - As a Brazilian who has many American friends, I find this article really good and enlightening.

6) Recommended Books:

Wicca Brasil - Guia de Rituais das Deusas Brasileiras - Mavesper Cy Ceridwen.