Candomble in Bahia - What is it about?

The Candomblé, the name given to a neo-African religion in Bahia, goes back to at least 150 years, and one center is believed by some to be 200 years old. At the middle of the twentieth century, there were more than 100 Candomblé centers in the state of Bahia, with an average of 300 people in each.

The gods and the dead mingle with the living in the terreiro (Candomblé center), listening to the complaints of the living, giving advice, granting favors, resolving problems, and providing medicine for the illnesses and consolation for the misfortunes.

Members of Candomblé believe in a supreme God called Olorun (a Yoruba term) or Zaniapombo (the word used in the Angolan, Congolese, and Caboclo (Indian) Candomblés). Devotees believe that the supreme God created the universe, but that he has intermediates who look after the affairs of human beings.

There is no organized cult for Olorun nor any material representation of this deity. In some groups, He is mentioned in songs and myths. On the door of some centers these words are painted: Ko si oba afi Olorun (There is only one God who is Olorun). 

Oshala (Obatala) - identified with the Church Nossso Senhor do Bonfim em Salvador, and, more rarely, with the Holy Spirit - receives as much homage as Olorun. Called Orisha Baba, Baba Oke, Lemba, and other terms, he is considered the father of all the other orisha and the grandfather of all mortals. In ceremonies, he appears in two forms - as an old man with a cane and as a young man, outspoken and outgoing.

Below these gods in rank are the orisha (Nago), Vodun (Gege), inkices (Angola and Congo), and the encantados (Caboclos).

Shango, god of storms, thunder, and lightening, appears in several forms, and is identified with St. Jerome, St. Barbara, St. Peter, or St. John the Younger.

Oshossie, a hunter is equated with St. George. Due to his relationship as servant to Eshu, Ogun, god of iron and owner of all roads, is responsible for opening the crossroads so that other gods may come to ceremonies. He is identified with St. Anthony. 

Oshunmare, the rainbow, is equated with St. Bartholomew. This servant of Shango takes the form of a snake.

Omolu, god of smallpox and, by extension, of all other contagious diseases, is the Doctor of the Blacks. Identified with St. Lazarus, St. Bento, St. Sebastian, or St. Roque, he is very popular. He appears at ceremonies in two forms, as an old and a young man.

Iroko (Loko) is sometimes identified with St. Francis of Assisi.