Afro-American Religious Syncretism in Brazil and the United States: A Weberian Perspective Author(s): Evandro M.

Camara Reviewed work(s): Source: Sociological Analysis, Vol. 48, No. 4 (Winter, 1988), pp. 299-318 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3710869 . Accessed: 13/04/2012 07:56
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Sociological Analysis 1988. 48, 4:299-318

Afro-American Religious Syncretism the States: A Brazil and United Weberian Perspective
EvandroM. Camara
Indiana Northwest University

in

Discussions of Afro-American religious syncretismin the settingof New World slavery are generallysuggestiveof structuralcorrespondencesbetweenthe dominant and minority models, butfor the most part their primaryfocus has been on the official posture of the established churches regardingthe religious systems of the slaves, as the major determinant in the evolution of African religious culture in the New World.This posture was universallyone of opposition and it needs to be considered,but at the same time it yields in only a partial insight into the dynamicsof syncretism.It is important this connection to more systematicallythe aspect of structuralconvergenceand divergencebetween explore the mainstream religions and the African ones. This essay will contrast mainstream (Catholic, Protestant)and minority (WestAfrican) structuralfeatures, focusing on the natureof ritual life and religious belief in an attemptto illuminateareas of compatibility and antagonism, and to show the impact that this structural dimension had on the interaction between the Christian churches and WestAfrican religious culture. This approachis intendedto shedfurther light on theproblemof Africanculturalinfluenceand retention, not only in the comparison of these two countries, but also in the wider hemispheric context. Themain thesis here is that the special characterof BrazilianCatholicismaided the preservationof religious Afnicanismsvia a strong structural parallelism between the two on models, manifestedin syncretismand greater accommodation thepart of the dominant churchtowardthe minorityone(s). Evangelical Protestantism the UnitedStates, on the in other hand, provedinimical to the continuationof Africanreligiouspractices due to their structuralincompatibility, and to the resultingsystematicsuppressionof African cultural traits by Protestantclergymen.

RELIGIOUS ETHICSAND THE WORLD The affinity between Catholic liturgical and sacramentalstructuresand West African religious ritual' has been frequentlymentionedin the literature,but the focus has been almost 1. Despite pluralization contemporary of African the 1979:219-229; (Jules-Rosette, religious experience the here is on the interaction between Christian also, Mbiti, 1970:299-342), emphasis religionand

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exclusively on the hagiolatricalaspect, i.e. the correspondencebetween Catholic saints and African naturegods. In this essay the mainstreamreligious models are analyzedin the context of Weber's typology of religions of salvation (1968). The specific Weberian distinction employed here is not that which addresses the particulartype of religion characterizedby a "methodology" for achieving salvation, and which is classified as "ascetic" (1968:541). (This methodology bifurcates into a "world-rejectingasceticism," on the one hand, and "inner-worldlyasceticism," on the other. To the lattercategorybelongs all ascetic Protestantism). The aim of this analysis is precisely to separatethe ascetic religious response from the non-ethicaltype of religion, which can be done by identifyingvariationswithinthe conception of salvationitself. Such a procedurewould enable us, firstof all, to assess moreeffectively the range of variability within the Christian response, which tends to be regarded in toto as ethically-oriented. Secondly, it makes possible the establishmentof structuralhomologies between such Christianvariantsand religions of the "primitive"type, such as the religions of the African slaves. The application of the Weberianmodel, therefore, is not intended to characterizetraditionalAfrican religious systems, strictly speaking, as religions of salvation, but rather,to unveil the structureof the Catholicism implantedin Brazil by the Portuguese of settlers, to contrastthat with the evangelicalProtestantism the United States, and finally to identify the areas of commonality and conflict between these Christiansystems and the nonChristian ones. The question of salvation in Weber is treatedlatu sensu, and as such takes into account religious responses that have a magical ethic as well, e.g. the majority of West African religious systems.2At the outset, we are reminded(1968:527) that the traditionalconception of salvation cannot be completely separated from the factor of redemptionfrom worldly "traditional" African to other Thus,thereis no attempt incorporate typesof (Mbiti,1970:1-7). religion that on in continent recent new religions have emerged theAfrican history, particularly Christian groups, thatexhibit different Tradirevivalistic, moder problems. responses-e.g. millenarian, syncretistic-to tionalAfricanreligionis not universal, boundandlimitedto eachparticular but tribalgroup.When to it exhibited diversity. it must emphasized theoutset this Yet be at transplanted theNewWorld certainly of of African that, for all the diversity religiousbackground the WestAfricanslaves,the traditional unifiedit witha distinctive and basicprinciples and religiousresponse theological perspective certain of As states:"Beneath diversity, the fundamental did patterns ritual. Raboteau enough similarity existto allowa general of of slaves"(1980:7). description the religious heritage African 2. The applicability the conceptof salvation Africanreligionmaybe explored relation the of to in to of African withanother-worldly orientation following aspects.First,theassociation traditional religion basis Africanpeoples mayappear problematic, giventhe "pragmatic" of this religion.Yettraditional subscribe a concept the hereafter, to of whichdiffersfromtheChristian in thatit does not implya one of life The is located sharp separation earthly fromthehereafter. ideais thatthenextworld actually here, invisible human to Afterdeath,thedeparted must soul exceptthatit remains beings(Mbiti,1970:208). travel thisregion, to on various of moreor lesson encountering thisjourney degrees difficulty, depending thequality earthly of existence thedeceased. concern of The withtheafterlife significantly is reinforced beliefamongWestAfricans multiple in souls(e.g. Barrett, At by the widespread 1976:108). the same is a identifiable ethical to in time,there not,strictly speaking, clearly component theafterlife themajority of African because afterlife seenas a kindof continuation life on earth the is of religions, (Mbiti,1970). of is sense of Thus,theelement salvation conceivable in theparticular of a state salvation achieved on only afterdeath. earth,whichcontinues All thingsconsidered, religious the ritual theWestAfrican of cult, as manifested through offerings and sacrifices the gods, mightbe seen as an attempt changedivinedisposition to to magical through This that is to or the ills manipulation. means aneffort made avert eliminate concrete ("divinely appointed that an or As inflictions," Weber, 1968:437) mayhavebefallen individual groupof individuals. canbe to are so the of seen, the paths salvation broadened as to embrace systematization practical conduct that can eitherbe completely oriented towards world,or towards afterlife. mainemphasis on the the The is salvation whatever in for in form,as long as it has practical implications behavior the world(Weber, 1968:528).

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suffering (the case of political and economical salvation), nor from the malevolentspiritual existence. Beyondthat, two majordimensionsof salvation forces thatmay affect our terrestrial must be examined, the first being tied to expectationsregardinganotherworld (other-worldly orientation), and the second to liberation from concrete ills (this-worldlyorientation). The first case applies to ethically-basedreligion, which stresses systematizationand internalization in the direction of an ethic of ultimate ends. The strongerthe tendency, the greaterthe tension between this type of religionand the world. The religious responsehere is groundedin a "sacredinner religious state," and shows an intensificationof the inherentconflict between "the religious postulateand the realityof the world ...."A clear exampleof this responseis the evangelicalProtestantismof the American South in the historicalperiod under consideration. In the second case, the tension between religion and the world "appears in a less consistent fashion and less as a matterof principle" (Weber,1968;576-578). This tendencyis characteristicof "primitive" religion, and it was also present in the Catholicism of colonial and imperialBrazil. A this-worldlybasis of salvationpromotesthe attainment political and of economic goals, whereas an other-worldlyorientationde-emphasizessocial and psychological bonds with family and friends, as well as "political, economic, and erotic activities" (Weber, 1968:542). between thisThere are a numberof aspects exploredby Weberthatserve to differentiate and other-worldlyreligion. Two of these are especially pertinentto this study: the worldly distinction between magic and religion, and the question of religious ethics and the world. Regardingthe magic/religion polarity,two elements of worship, prayerand sacrifice, will be considered. In the context of magic, prayer has a practical basis, assuming the form of technical rationalization(e.g. as in the use of materialdevices, such as the counting of rosary beads), and aims at the attainmentof economic and political objectives. In this mode of worship, prayeressentially representsa form of manipulationand coercion of the deity, via magical formulae. In the context of religion (i.e. ethical religion), the individual resorts to prayeras a form of supplication,and the latter is mainly geared to "irrational,"that is, noneconomic or other-worldly,goals. Sacrifice, particularlyanimal sacrifice, is an integralpart of magical worship. Similarly with prayerin this mode, sacrifice embodies the instrumental aspect of transaction("cool and calculatedtrading")and magical manipulation.In the more purely religious response, on the otherhand, sacrifice springsfrom non-magicalmotives, and amountssimply to a tributeor gift to the deity. Naturally,the utilizationof prayerand sacrifice in magical and religious worshipis effected along a continuum,ratherthan on the basis of a rigid conceptual and substantivedifferentiation.Be that as it may, as conventionallyunderstood, sacrifice is conspicuouslyabsentfrom ethically-basedreligion (Weber,1968:422-424). As for the issue of religious ethics vis-a-vis the world, the focus will be shifted here to the problem of sexuality. The relationshipof all religion to sexuality remains "extraordinarily intimate." This-worldly religions show remarkableaffinity with, and incorporationof, the sexual element. In this connection, the "orgiasticecstasy" does not emerge as an end in itself, but as the outcome of the sexualization (through dance, etc.) of the worship ritual, as a particularelement in the process of sanctification. Such a quality of religious eroticism was strongly evident in the Luso-Brazilian Catholicism of the colonial and imperial eras. In contrast, ascetic, evangelical Protestantismhas kept a hostile stance towardssexuality, proscribing "any eroticismthattendsto deify the humancreature."Weberlinks this phenomenon to the.problem of rationality.As he puts it: "Rational ascetic alertness, self-control, and methodicalplanningof life are seriously threatenedby the peculiar irrationality the sexual of act, which is ultimatelyand uniquelyunsusceptibleto rationalorganization"(1968:546, 543, 602-604). The this-worldlyfeaturesdiscussed here, to wit, a pragmaticorientationto life, a foundation of magic and sacrifice, eroticism in ritual song and dance, were all predominantin the

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for WestAfricanreligioussystemsof the slaves. Morerelevantly this study,in Brazilthey as already indicated. is interesting This werealsovisiblein themainstream since,as religion, to a formal beliefsystem,Catholicism Christian mightseemon firstreflection be structurally in of it closerto Protestantism thecontext theWeberian Yet, categories. uponcloserscrutiny with orientation. is whythesui showstendencies alignit moredirectly a this-worldly This that so of generis character this religionmust be stressedfrom the beginning, that a fuller can be gained. of the dynamics Afro-Christian of syncretism understanding

THE CHURCHAND THE STATE

in It is generally Church Braziloperated under considerable known the Catholic that the the influence controlof thePortuguese Crown and throughout colonialandimperial periods 1971: Chapter Holanda, Thisimmediately 6; 1973:84). 1963:234-235; (Calogeras, Wagley, on to limitations thepartof theChurch exerta deepandpervasive formal suggests significant of of the Africanisms effecton themasses.However, concerns dynamics retention religious as attention the levelof autonomy the and on Brazilian absenceof pastoral of soil, the relative officialecclesiastical Crown hardlythe are structure vis-a-visthe all-powerful Portuguese of point. It is true, of course, thatthe overallinfluenceof the Churchon the formation Afterall, Brazilian culturewas immense,governmental circumscriptions notwithstanding. of boththe Church the Stateaimedbasicallyat "totalcoverage the society"(Bruneau, and in interaction mustbe analyzed termsof the sacred/ the 1982:12).Moreover, Church-State in seculardialectic,whereby interests and prevailed theconvents in thepatriarchal temporal in was of element influence shown theprevalence theclerical at economy large,andthesacred Moreimportant the in thesocialandpolitical elitesof thecountry still, (Azevedo,1971:153). of and Brazilian into slavewasdrawn the familial complex the Big Housein a profound farcontext "folk of way reaching (Freyre,1956:369,307-398;Pierson,1967),andthereligious of universe theplantation, theorthodox not version Catholicism" in practiced thepatriarchal of the cultural of Rome,wasreallywhatconstituted nucleus Afro-Brazilian interpenetration. Freyrestressesthis point:
. . .this domestic, lyric, and festive Christianity . . . that created the first spiritual,

the and bondsbetween NegroesandtheBrazilian moral,andaesthetic family its culture (1956:372). in of and the Themarked absence formalism rigidity thereligion theBrazilian of masses; and of via the objective circumstances geography politics,of an authoritarian, prevention, folk whichstressed monolithic the of existence, Christianity; cultivation a syncretistic religion between tworeligious the in aboveallelse-all of thesefacilitated rapprochement the cultures, that the Africansalso practiced their religionunencumbered formalconstraints, and by it of experienced in the totality theirdailylife. At thisjuncture, pointsmaybe stressed.First, however strictmayhavebeen the two in institution colonialandimperial of the ecclesiastical Brazil, governmental regimentation to thisdidnotimpart anti-religious irreligious an or 1978:149). quality thesociety(Simpson, It has already socialpraxisat thebasiclevelof beenshownhowthe folkreligion permeated in to contactwouldhaveto haveoccurred relation a existence.Secondly, intercultural any in Catholicism the Big House of shared cultural situation, this case, the domestic mutually in American in South,wherecultural (unlikethe situation the antebellum separation the a religiousspherewas the norm,eitherin the figureof the itinerant preacher, preaching

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black preacher, special, made-to-orderdiscourse to the slave population;or in the plantation white-inspiredreligious exhortationsto his fellow blacks). This paper carries the spouting argument further by suggesting that the African was not only deeply enmeshed in this religion, but also found in it a fertile terrainfor syncretizationand retentionof his/her own native heritage. Of course, BrazilianCatholicismas a whole differed in severalaspects from the official version of Rome. In this sense, "public" and "private" religion-the privatetype being the localized familial Catholicism of the plantation-had essentially the same dialectical basis: ritualistic and mystical on the one hand; experiential, practical, and given to magic on the other. Stated differently, it was a dialectic that opposed and unified the concern with the diverse culturalelements. Yet, the crucial point business of saving souls and thatof integrating is the familial integrationthat underlaythe wider process of culturalfusion. By realizing that formal Catholicism was subordinateto the family institutionin an even more significant way than to the State, and that folk Catholicism itself exerted a systematic influence over the church (Bastide, in Smith and Marchand, 1951:36; see also Azevdo, 1958:21), greater insights can be gained into the phenomenonof Afro-Brazilianreligious exchange.

AFRICAN SAINTVS. WEST CATHOLIC ORISHA; THE POSITIONOF THE CHURCH of The tolerance/intolerance the dominantreligions in the New Worldsocieties regarding the slave culture must not be assessed solely in reference to the traditionalhostility of dominantculturalmodels towardsminorityones. To be sure, the top echelons of Catholicism of and Protestantism officially advocatedthe quick and large-scale Christianization the Africans from the earliest stages of the slavery era, and opposed the "heathenism" of their religious ways out of a sense of duty and in-group affiliation. But there was often a gulf between dogma and practice (Bastide, 1978), as we saw to be the case in Brazil especially, owing to the geographicalandpolitical problemsfaced by the Church.The factremainsthat in the Luso-Braziliancontext we have a clear indicationof how the greaterCatholic tolerance vis-a-vis non-Christiancultureshad less to do with administrative procedurethat with structural affinity with West African religious practice. Duringthe greaterpartof the slaveryperiod, Africans all overBrazilwereallowedto hold Braziliancelebratheir native festivalsand ceremonies, usually in conjunctionwith traditional tions. The African religious traits that were most acceptablewere those which had counterpartsin the Catholicceremonial, such as the nationalkingshipsandtribalchiefhoods(Bastide, 1978:54; Freyre, 1956;472). The congada exemplifies this religious syncretism. It was the into symbolic coronationof the King of the Congo, and it was incorporated the yearly festival of Our Lady of the Rosary,who became a patronessof the blacks (see Koster,1966;136, for a vivid, first-handaccount of this celebration). Other foreign observers, such as Ewbanks(1856), who lived in Brazil in the mid-1800s, noticed the extensive black participationin the church festivals, like those of the Holy Ghost, Good Friday,and Palm Sunday.JamesWetherell,Britishconsul at Bahiain the 1840s, saw the procession of the Holy Ghost being accompanied by African drums (1860:30). He also noticed that multitudes of blacks congregatedat the majestic Our Lord of Bonfim Church during Catholic feasts, and put on a public spectacle of African dances, which he typically interpretedin moralistic fashion as a scene of "the wildest debauchery"(1860:122). The fertile conditions for culturalfusion appearto have shapedthe Catholic reaction to the African culturalpresence far more than official decree. Wheneverthe opposition of the Church made itself felt, this had to do with the conventionalantagonismbetween the estab-

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lished culturalcommunity and the minoritygroups, but it could be significantly intensified/ weakened by the structuralrelationshipbetween all these groups. In the case of the United States (and the British West Indies as well), the vigorous attackon African "heathenism"by Protestant missionariesseems to have been directly motivatedby conflict betweenevangelical andAfrican religious practice. In any event, as pointedout earlier,even if the official theology Catholicposition is made the focal point of the analysis, the chief church-related influence on slave cultureon the Brazilianplantationwas that of the residentchaplain, whose actions were of in turn far more subordinateto the authorityof the paterfamilias the Big House than to the Roman See; and whose involvementwith the domestic religion of the plantationwas much deeper than his affiliation with the orthodox model of Rome (Freyre, 1963b:70; Bastide, 1978:40-42).3

AND LUSO-BRAZILIAN WEST RELIGION CATHOLICISM AFRICAN The potentialitiesfor syncretism between Catholicism, as practiced in Brazil, and the religious systems of the slaves can be betterassessed at this point by listing the majorfeatures of traditional African religion, in terms of concrete aspects (content)and structural tendencies (form): (A) Elaborate ritual and sacramental structures (see Landes, 1940; Herskovits and Herskovits, 1942; Herskovits, 1956k; Mbiti, 1970). (B) Magic and divination-this figures prominently in the whole of existence of the African, and comprises the use of, and belief in, charms, amulets, and the like. (C) The cult of the dead-according to Bastide, this religious phenomenonis "deeply rooted in the moral code and the civilization of all the peoples of black Africa" (1978:128). Herskovitsadds that the ancestral cult in Africa "is the most importantsingle sanctioning force for the social system and the codes of behaviorthatunderlieit" (1964:300), becoming a length "one of the most importantcults . . . in all of West Africa" (1966:85). (D) Polytheism-a basic featureof West African religion is the notion of a High god or Supreme Being, creator of all things (Mbiti, 1970:37). The exalted status of this supreme deity, however,precludes a direct involvementin the ordinarydaily affairs of humanbeings. This becomes the sphere of responsibility of a pantheon or group of lesser divinities and ancestor-spirits.Throughthese spiritualbeings God manifests Himself and controls "major objects or phenomenaof nature" (Mbiti, 1970:98). (E) Sacrifices and offerings-the sacrificial element standsamong "the commonest acts of worship among African peoples" (Mbiti, 1970:75). It is certainly part and parcel of the rituals of African cults in the New World, regardlessof their particularethnic derivation. (F) Directdeity-devoteerelationship-an essential functionof the African naturegods is that of mediatingbetween individualsand God. This is so because one cannot approachthe High God directly or personally, as already mentioned. Mediationoccurs in various forms, such as sacrifice, divination, and spirit possession (Raboteau, 1980:11). In addition to the mediatingaspect, ancestorspirits and specific deities become personalgods and the source of selfhood and identification, as well as protection, for each member of the group (see Durkheim, 1965, Book II, for a discussion of this phenomenon).This can be exemplified in the Yorubacult ritual, when the various deities (orishas) "arrive" and "takepossession" of their humanintermediaries.Mbiti adds that ancestor spirits act as "guardiansof the family 3. In many of cases,thechapelwasan appendage the Big House,as werethechaplain's (see, quarters in e.g. the floorplanof the Nonlegaplantation, Freyre,1956:469).

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affairs, tradition, ethics, and activities" (1970:108). on (G) Hierarchyof power-African deities are differentiated the basis of their ontological attributes,jurisdiction over natural phenomena (e.g. rain, thunder), as well as social activities and experiences (e.g. war, diseases) and their male/femalepersonification(Mbiti, 1970:98). (H) No formalseparationbetween the sacred and the profane,betweenthe spiritualand the material.Mbiti statesthatin African societies religion "permeatesinto all departmentsof life so fully that it is not easy or alwayspossible to isolate it" (1970:1). It must be addedhere from musical expression that traditionalAfrican religious expressionis generally inseparable (singing and dancing). (I) Pragmaticorientation-on the whole, African religions are gearedto the resolutionof earthly problems and to the achievement of earthly objectives. Accordingly, patterns of and magical manipulation,e.g. the offering of worship are characterizedby instrumentality foods to the naturegods. (J) Collectivism-traditional African religion does not involve an ethically-based, personalized religious experience. Instead, it is a collectivistic, communal affair. In African society one cannot dissociate himself/herself from the religion of the group, any more than from his/her " . . . roots . . . foundation. . . context of security . . . kinship . . . and the entire group of those who make him awareof his own existence" (Mbiti, 1970:3). Froma comparativestandpoint,the simpler ritualsof the evangelicalProtestant churches in the United States, those which drew the largest numbersof blacks into the Christianfold, conflicted with the complex ceremonial structureof African religion, whereas the pomp and and displayof the Catholicliturgygave the Africans a basis for identification correspondence. This fact did not escape the observation of the Protestantclergyman James Ramsay, who reportedin the 1700s for the West Indies: It must be owned, indeed, that the Romish mode of worship consisting of pomp and ceremony,is bettercalculatedto strike, at first sight, the imaginationof ignorantpeople, than our simple ritual (1784:275). The Rev.Phillipo, a Baptistmissionaryin Jamaica,concededthatCatholicismprobablystood a better chance than Protestantismin gaining converts among the slaves because of "the influence which pageantryand show ever exert over the untutoredmind" (1969:244). In the United States, Olmsted noted that the more formal liturgical structureof the Church of England, with its "ceremonyand pomp, the frequentresponsesand chants .. .," was in fact "admirablyadapted"to the African character(1856:123). The same could be said for the complex ritual of the Catholic Church. This level of culturalcorrespondencecan be more readilyunderstoodvia the examination of the brandof Catholicismtransplanted Brazilby the Portuguese.As suggestedearlier,this to was not the rigid Catholicismof the Tridentinereforms, with its strongemphasison dogmas, the sacraments,andorthodoxyof beliefs and practices. Rather,it was a late-medieval religious model, which had been deeply affected by centuries under Moorish influence; a religion, as Bastide tells us (in Smith and Marchand, 1951:334), "softenedby North African sensuality and Moslem voluptuousness,but that made place for the saints of the Reconquest, knights caparisoned in iron and with lace in hand:. Additionally, it was a cultural rather than a spiritualideology, with a greater impact over the social than over individuallife (Coutinho, 1943:190). It is not surprising,then, that one would also find a carnal, paganisticquality to this Catholicism. As Freyre (1956:30) describes it, we are dealing here essentially with

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ANALYSIS SOCIOLOGICAL ... a soft, lyric Christianitywith manyphallic and animisticreminiscencesof the Pagan cults. The only thingthatwas lacking was for the saintsandangels to takeon fleshly form and step down from the altarson feast-daysand disportthemselveswith the populace. As it was, one might have seen oxen entering the churches to be blessed by the priests; motherslulling their little ones with the same hymns of praisethat were addressedto the infantJesus; sterile women with upraisedpetticoatsrubbingthemselvesagainstthe legs of St. Goncalo D'Amarante.

It is also reportedthat in the 19th century women of patriarchal families of planterswho had settled in the city would often buy articles from itinerant merchants, including "rosycheeked" images of St. Anthony which became "objects of ferventdevotion and, in certain cases, of practices of sexual fetishism" (Freyre, 1963a:32). And the cult of St. John had a basis that was "essentially aphrodisiac,and sexual songs and practicesare bound up with his rites" (Freyre, 1956:254). This element of paganismis partof the larger tendency of all folk religion to mix the sacred with the profane. This tendency was evident in the Portuguese traditionof includingmaskeddances and profanesinging in festivalsof the Church, a custom which remainedin vogue as late as 1855 (Bastide, 1978:124). Boxer writes about the "gaily and richly decoratedreligious processions, with their masqueraders, musicians, and dances" in colonial Bahia, and points out that PortugueseCatholicismtendedto "blendthe sacredand the profanetogetherin the most intriguingways" (1964:134). This tendencywas particularly widespreadin the colonial period (before 1808). The FrenchtravellerLe Gentil de la Barbinais must havebeen much scandalizedby the Christmasfestivitiesandthe feastof St. Goncalo d'Amarantewhich he witnessed in the churches and convents of colonial Bahia; veritable pagan festivals, with much dancing and revelry,in which clerics, noblemen, top government officials, blacks and prostitutesenthusiasticallyparticipated(cited in Freyre, 1956:256-257; Boxer, 1964:134). There is also the report by Tollenare(1956:135) who in the early 19th centurysaw young men and womendancingnightly at the St. Goncalo Churchin Olinda(state of Pernambuco),not withoutsome objection from the clergymen, who sensed that European visitors would surely see in that custom something much too indecent to be witnessed in the house of God. With the adventof the imperialera in Brazil in 1808, this phenomenonshowed no apparentsigns of decline, judging from the continued reports of observers. John Maw noticed in the Southernprovince of Sao Paulo in 1809 that religious festivals usually ended with "tea, cardgames, anddances." While travelingthroughthe provinceof Parain the 1840s Kidderalso lamentedthat religious festivities had to be carriedout amidst "amusementsand follies" (1845:297). As late as the 1880s the Feast of The Purificationwas followed by "a great ball [which] . . . was kept up till midnight" (Dent, 1886:147). The Rev. Walsh, in residence at Rio de Janeiroin the 1820s, was appalledto see that even many of the religious celebrations and services were attended"with the levity of a puppet-show,and without the slightest regard to solemnity or decorum" (1830:387). It should be furtherstressed, in this regard, that the treatmentof the religious (spiritual) and the secular (material)as undifferentiated elements is one of the most importantstructural featuresto bring into focus here, as we atFempt sketchthe homologicalrelationshipbetween to Luso-BrazilianCatholicism and West African religions. As in traditionalAfrican societies, Braziliansdid not centralizetheir religion in the temple and in the sacraments,to the exclusion of the world outside this formalsphere. Instead, religion permeatedthe daily roundof life and was never allowed to take precedence over the exigencies of everydayexistence. In the rural setting, the sacred structuresof the Churchand the familialaspectsof the domestic religion of the Big House became intertwinedmost intensely; on the one hand, the formalismof religious dogma; on the other, the contextualityof familial existence, which is to say, life, in its more fundamental the sense, attenuating rigidityof the former,breakingdown the sharpdistinctions

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between the sacred and the profane (see, e.g. Azevedo, 1958:69). In the particularcase of Brazil, this phenomenon also pointed to the largerintegrationof the affairs of the State and those of institutionalreligion. Since an all-powerfulstatedictatedthe norms for social action in Braziliansociety, and since it also upheld vigorouslythe model of a Catholic existence for all the citizens, there was no need for religious commitmentto be expressed in terms of a personal involvementwith religious ethics. One simply had to be integratedinto the mainstreamof Brazilianculturallife to display the behaviorsand attitudesassociatedwith Catholicism. Hence, the frequentobservationsby foreign visitors in colonial and imperial Brazil on of the emphasis which the populationimpartedto the externalmanifestations the cult, along with a marked lack of solemnity and seriousness during religious services (e.g. Walsh, 1830:387; also see Bruneau, 1982: chapter 1). This specific dimension of Luso-BrazilianCatholicism, i.e. the emphasis on pageantry and festivity, was yet another source of culturalidentificationfor the Africans, owing to their own traditionof observing sacreddays and festivals, andpenchantfor ceremonialelaboration. It was also a carry-overfrom the Portugueseheritagewhich emphasized,as Boxer informsus (1964:134), "the external manifestationsof the Christiancult." In Brazil this reached such proportionsas to cause Fletcher to affirm in the mid-1800s that Catholicismthere "in pomp and display . . . is unsurpassedeven in Italy" (1879:140). He gives a good account of the religious processions and festivals which he saw in Rio de Janeiro,with the multitudesof the faithful,the pyrotechnicdisplays, the ringingof bells, the gown-claddignitariesof the Church and government, the ornamentationof the churches and the images of saints, the bands (1979:ch. IX). Caldcleugh (1825:71-72) reiteratesthis scenario. "If the quantumof religion existing in a country,"he states, "were to be measuredby its externalsigns, no country could possibly possess more than Brazil" (see also the chronicles of Rugendas, 1976:126; and Mawe, 1978:69-72). Luso-BrazilianCatholicism also containedthe pervasivePortuguesebelief in, and practice of, witchcraftand sorcery. The settlers had broughtwith them a religious mentality as intenselysuperstitiousas thatof theirAfricanslaves. The reportsof foreignvisitors repeatedly highlight this aspect, especially those of the Protestant clergymen. Rev. James Fletcher was offendedin his Calvinist sensibilities by what he describedas "the marriagebetween heathenism and Christianity,"in Rio de Janeiroin the mid 1800s. He saw people in that city offering votive tabletsat the altarof their favoritedivinity or saintfor a recoveryfromvariousailments, just as the ancient pagans had done centuries before. They also offered representationsin paintingand sculptureof various portions of the afflicted body. "In the Gloria Church," he writes, "may be seen any quantityof wax models of arms, feet, eyes, noses, breasts, etc." (1879:95). The same phenomenon was witnessed by Kidder in a convent in the northern provinceof Maranhaoin the 1840s (1945:244). Fletcherdescribes anotherpractice that was equally widespreadduring religious festivals: ... the faithful(andothers for thatmatter)can obtainany amountof pious merchandise, in the shape of medidas and.bentinhos-pictures, images and medals of saints and of the Pope, etc. These are "exchanged"-never sold-in the church, and fetch roundprices. A medida is a ribbon cut to the exact height of the presidingLady or saint of the place of worship.These, worn next to the skin, cure all mannerof diseases, andgratify the various desires of the happy purchasers. .. Bentinhos are two little silken pads with painted figures of Our Lady, etc., upon them. These are worn next to the skin, in pairs, being attachedby ribbons, one bentinho resting upon the bosom and the other upon the back. These are most efficacious for protectingthe wearerfrom invisible foes both before and behind (1879:98-99).

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Kidder (1845:292) saw a great many of these bentinhos as well as beads, crosses, and miniatureimages for sale, hangingon the door of the SantaAnna church, in the Paraprovince, after having been properlyblessed, or sprinkled with holy water. Ecclesiastical wares were often peddled throughthe newspapers,in connection with a forthcomingfeast of the Church. characteristicof this religion was the cult of the dead, as Another centrally-important this passage from Abel du Petit-Thouars,who saw the following scene in the suggested by province of Santa Catarinain 1825: on ... I saw at the rearof the room a platformon which an infantwas arranged an altar, surrounded lilies andvases of flowers; its face was uncoveredand it was richly dressed, by with a crown of forget-me-notson its head and a cluster of them in its hand. Aroundthe altaron which this deadchild rested, women were kneeling on mats, singing, after which "there were gay dances" (cited in Freyre, 1963:58). At about the same period Walsh witnessed the practice in Rio churches of keeping the bones of departedones in cases or these boxes, which were then encased into receptaclesin the walls of the cloisters. Underneath boxes, gaudily ornamentedshrines were erected, where people prayed (1830:336-337). Ancestorworshipwas especially noticeablein the Catholicismof the plantation which, as Bastide reports, became a sort of householdreligion, based on "the worshipof the patriarch's by guardiansaints and of the family dead, who were buriedin the same chapel andsurrounded the same reverence"(1978:41). But it also prevailedin the urbancontext, in institutionssuch as the "confrarias" or "irmandades"(confraternitiesor brotherhoods),where much of the syncretic process took place. In Brazil (as in Cuba; Klein, 1969), these agenciescame to play a vital role in the social and culturallife of blacks, slaves or freedmen. As early as 1589 the Jesuits in Brazil founded religious organizations for the slaves, the "confrarias," among which stood out the "Confrariadas Almas" (Confraternityof the Souls), based on the characteristicPortuguesedevotion to the souls in Purgatory(Leite, 1938).4 In the area of hagiolatry,the functionalequivalence of the Catholic saints vis-a-vis the West African pantheonwas direct and multifaceted,providinga solid basis for the syncretic process. The following points are pertinent: (a) both the Catholic saints and the African "orishas" had anthropomorphic attributes;(b) in the Portuguese religious folklore certain saints, like their WestAfricancounterparts,were associatedwith the controlof naturalforces, such as Santa Barbara, who was thought to be a protector against lightning. Thus, an immediatecorrespondencewas establishedwith Shango, the Yorubadeity of the thunderbolts (see Pierson, 1967:307); (c) Catholic saints also functionedin accordancewith a hierarchyof power, in similar fashion to the West African orisha. In Bahia, for example, our Lord of Bonfim is consideredthe most powerfuland importantCatholicsaint by the lowerclasses, and thus becomes identified with Oshala, the greatestof the Yorubaorishas (Pierson, 1967:306); (d) the worship of the saints in Brazil had a strongly pragmaticbasis, and was linked to the attainmentof material goals, just as in Africa; (e) the faithful in Brazil developed a strong bond and identificationwith a personaldeity, and the lattercould be not only their guardian angel but also a particularsaint to whom they might have been consecratedin infancy. This deity would provide protectionas well as help in the solution of earthly problems. This was homologous to the individual-deityrelationship in Africa; (f) also, the profusionof saints which were veneratedin colonial Brazilmay be seen as a parallelphenomenonto WestAfrican

4. Bastide accommodation of effectthatthebrotherhoods through had, (1978:54)writes therevitalizing andsyncretism, the African on institutions. religious

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polytheism (this type of parallelism is also suggested in Weber, 1968:518).5 Finally, as much as this was a religion "impregnated with mysticism" (Azevedo, or 1971:148), Luso-BrazilianCatholicismwas not mystical in the contemplative illuminative sense (Weber, 1968:544-545), nor was it, for the most part, particularlyas practicedin the sugar cane and cotton producing regions of the Northeast, and the coffee regions of the South-brutally or tragicallymystical, like the Catholicismof Spainand the Spanishcolonies in the New World. It was, instead, a softer and more malleable system, possessing "neither inflexibility of dogma nor puritanism of conduct" (Bastide, in Smith and Marchand, 1951:336). As such, it also mirroredthe WestAfrican exampleof non-ethical,pragmaticallydisposed religion, by emphasizingfeeling over abstractprinciple, by adaptingto political and economic circumstance, by having negligible ethical impact over individual or collective action. This utilitarianquality was groundedon a cost-benefit approachto religion, whereby the satisfactionof immediateneeds was attainedvia magical instrumentality. mechanism The of indulgences, the buying of masses for the departed,etc., represented economic transacan tion through which special favors from the Church could be granted. "The iniquity of indulgencesstill obtains," deploredDent (1886:278), duringa periodof residencein Brazil in the 1880s. Koster(1966:115) tells us about the cult of our Lady of the O (in the Recife area in the early 1800s), "an avariciouspersonage, whose powerfulintercessionis not to be obtained unless she is in returnwell paid for her trouble." Similarly,in the Africanreligiouscontext, as befittingthe model of "primitivereligion," the offeringof entreatiesand gifts to the various deities aimed not at ethical reparation an increasedawarenessof sin; insteadit constituteda or form of practicalexchange, of "calculatedtrading,"to use Weber'sterm (1968). Herskovits (1944) has noted how devotees in the African cults at Bahia may seek to gain special favors from the cult priest by offering him a new ceremonial drum.

WEST AFRICAN RELIGION AND CALVINISTIC PROTESTANTISM This essential propertyof Luso-BrazilianCatholicism, namely, greaterstructuralcompatibility and overall potentialfor syncretizationwith West African religion, has been introduced as a determining factor in the process of African religious retention in Brazil. In in analyzing Protestantism the United States the primaryfocus will be on this aspect also, but the thesis here is that the Protestantinfluence on African secular and sacred customs was almost always a negative one. Given the structureof dogma and ritualof evangelicalProtestantism, the lattercould only reactadverselyto the aboriginalreligiousbehaviorof the slaves. The vigorous and unceasing attemptson the part of missionaires to suppress this behavior demonstratethis fact. In order to clarify the dynamics of this suppression,it is importantat this point to examinesome of the basic tenets of Calvinism, an ideology which had a deep and pervasive effect on the evangelical sects of the United States, both as a source of doctrinal the authorityandan ideological model shapingthe basic attitudeof the faithfultowards world. As Jordan(1968:199) points out, the similarities among the Protestantsects "were fully as importantas the differences," and nearly all of them "shared in common a low-church English Protestantismstrongly tinged by Calvinism." Among these sects the Baptists and 5. The structural between ritualstructures Catholicism thoseof WestAfrican the of and homologies calls of religion (1972:254), gaveriseto whatHerskovits the "disguise technique" consisting theslaves' use ritual statues saintsas a cloakfortheirownreligious and of exercises. Thiswas frequent of Catholic donein order tricktheirmorereligiously-minded to masters believing whatwasactually into that taking detailof the Catholic saint-African nature corresponplacewas Catholic (for worship descriptive god dence,see Bastide,1978:260-284).

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Methodistsexerted the strongestand most consistent influence on the slave populationof the South, and they were,accordingto Raboteau (1980:130),clearly in the ascendancyin that area startingin the late 1700s. It is true that the Baptistand Methodistdenominationsare not generallyassociated with Calvinism, and thatthe lattermore properlyprovidesthe theologicalbasis for the Presbyterian and Reformedchurches. Some facts must be noted, however.The Baptistdoctrine is said to in have come into being as an offshoot of English Congregationalism the early 17th century (Hudson, 1982:209, Vol. III); yet it soon split into separatefactions, the GeneralBaptistsand the Particular Baptists, which followeda moderate(Arminian)anda moreorthodoxversion of Calvinism, respectively. It has, in fact, been asserted that the history of the Baptist Church "has been characterizedby an emphasis that has varied from a strong to a moderateCalvinism" (Hudson, 1982:210). These Calvinistic tendencies were especially evident in the frontier churches of the U.S., leading to the appearanceof groups such as the Primitive ("Hard Shell") Baptists (Hudson, 1982:212). Hays and Steely point out that from the late 1700s on the ParticularBaptists prevailedover all other Baptistbranchesboth in size and in influence, and their dominant position was "stronglyCalvinistic" (1973:160). As for Methodism and Calvinism, if their more specific doctrinal differences are left similar moraloutlook, the same basic attitude aside, one finds that they shareda remarkably of rejection of the world, particularlyas concerns the element of greatest relevance in any study of African culture: musical and recreational activity,as it is woveninto the structureof religious ritual. Like pietistic Calvinism, Methodism regarded"all worldly delights at the least with distrust, at the most with rather violent aversion" (Cameron, 1961:218). This denouncementof worldly diversion was pursuedwith increasedvigor by Wesley's followers. The spiritof self-denial went from its originalcharacter an adjunctto a religiousphilosophy as to become "the goal itself" (Cameron, 1961:218). Among the wide range of terrestrial amusementsopposed by Methodism, dancingwas "the most severely reprobated" (Cameron, 1961:222). In view of the crucial role playedby dancing in the spectrumof African religious life, the significance of this position cannot be overstressed. Be that as it may,the quick and vehementrejectionof African religiousmanifestations by Protestantclergy was not in principlelimited to any one particulardenomination,althoughit was far more conspicuous, by virtue of historical circumstance, among the Methodists and Baptists. This suggests that this recriminatoryattitude had less to do with the specific doctrinal content of the Protestantsects involved (the variationin contentwas considerable), and much more to do with theform of their religious response. Thus, the religious manifestations of the African slaves must have appeared,as judging from numerousreports of 19th century ministers, equally alien and intolerableto all sects, uniformlycontraryto the Protestantorientationas a whole. Fromthis point of view, the doctrinalstipulationsof Calvin and his specific reservationsregardingthe Catholic Churchappearto have had an importantand far consideredin toto, and to havebeen pertinentto reachingeffect on evangelicalProtestantism the attitude of Southern clergy towardthe religious expressions of the slaves. The dispute between Methodistsand Presbyterians over the questionof predestination, example, is not for as importanthere as the fact that all of the evangelical sects alike emphaticallydisavowed of worldly entertainment,materialrepresentations the faith(statues, offerings,amulets, etc.), religious intercession and intermediaries,and so forth. In this sense, they all displayed the same fundamental"moral conduct" (Weber, 1958:96), the same predominant tendencies of aversionto the world (manifestedobjectively in the repudiation secular entertainment); of of absolute individualismwhich rules out all religious intercession;and of stressingthe absolute of transcendentality God and the corruptionof all that was relatedto the flesh, implying an entirely negative attitude towards all the sensuous and emotional elements in culture and religion (the latter one, for instance, in magic, idolatry,etc.). In Weber'swords, this was "a

AFRO-AMERICAN RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM 311 to fundamental antagonism sensuouscultureof all kinds"(1958:105).To the extentthat a Calvinism described a above,it constituted "theoretical provided basisfor the tendencies attitude toward world" the a metatheory whichbound (Weber, 1968:578), together evangelical Protestants various of denominations formal and affiliations. a similar In vein, it canbe said of Catholicism the Brazilian House,Calvinism the U.S. South in that,like the domestic Big much more as a climateof feeling that affectedProtestants all stripesand of operated rather thanas a formal system. persuasions, philosophical Wecanlookmorecloselyattheadversary tendencies Calvinism of towards worldvia the anexamination Calvin's of as expressed hislandmark in central viewpoints, opus,Institutes of the Christian and life Religion(1936). Various aspectsof worship Christian are discussed; however under moreenglobing the structures whichmake theCalvinistheyaresubsumed, up tic theoretical attitude the towards world. Reformist directed initialimpetus its the because the of Church religion against Catholic latter's on of insistence thehierarchy ecclesiastical ritual sacramental and authority, complex for of Calvin structure, prayers the dead,andthe veneration the saints.In the "Institutes" all elements."Romanism" seen as satanic,its is vehemently repudiates of these Catholic doctrine "fatal a of of pestilence souls"(1936:36),wheretheworship God"is deformed a by multifarious intolerable of superstitions" ii, 2). Hiscriticism thesacramental and mass of (IV, the structure particularly is severe.Although sacraments holy exercises the renewal are for andsolidification faithin God,theymustbe administered the "duedecorum" x, of with (IV, of into transformed "degenerate rites" however, become 29). Inthehands the"Papists," they of (IV, xiv, 19) and a "grossprofanation the Divinemysteries" (IV, xiv, 4). The Mass, foremost offers"anintolerable .. insult Christ" Catholicism's . to liturgical expression, (IV, andsacrilege" xviii, 18), andis "fullof everyspeciesof impiety, (IV, blasphemy, idolatry, with an excessof "pageantries, xviii, 18). All of the Catholicritualis seen as burdened and it ceremonies, gesticulations" xviii, 20); whatis moreimportant, is oftenconducted (IV, in anarcane inscrutable and manner whichescapes comprehension thefaithful. the of Without the essentialmediation the Spirit,these sacraments ultimately of are nothing"buta vain of (IV, appearance splendour" x, 29). Theuse of imagesin thetemples classified idolatrous is as "All knowledge of worship. God soughtfromimages,"maintains and Calvin,"is corrupt fallacious" xi, 5). True (I, thatGod be worshipped no of religiondemands through anthropomorphic representation that with "suchbrutal Himself,and it is causefor greatdismay peopleshouldbe afflicted as of of stupidity, to be desirous visiblerepresentations the Deity" (I, xi, 1). Furthermore, "the Lordprohibits of madeby the statuary, by any or everyrepresentation Him, whether otherartificer, becauseall similitudes criminal insulting the Divine Majesty" are and to (I, xi, 4). of The veneration saintsis subjectto equallyharshcondemnation. Calvinregards as the practice whichpeople'ssoulsare wrested superstitious by awayfromthe trueGodand "carried aboutaftervarious deities"(II. viii, 16). Thetwoaspectsof veneration whichare relevant here are the visible representation saints in the form of gravenimagesand of or between individual God. As we have the and intercession, the use of saintsas mediators in to seen,theusageof images itselfis deemed ignominious Calvin.Notonlyis it abhorrent by God to be worshipped a a material via of representation Himself,but it is an evengreater crimeto divideHisglorybyadoring multitude inferior "a of deities"(I, xii, 1). Intercession, to on inasmuch the as according Calvin,is another theological absurdity, bordering insanity, saintsthemselves mustprocure accessto GodAlmighty. Christaloneis the Mediator and and to is Intercessor, theattempt secureGod'sblessings through otherchannel unlawful. any As Calvinstatesit: "Theofficeof intercession is peculiar Christ... andno prayer ... to is to God, unlessit be sanctified thisMediator" xx, 27). acceptable (III, by

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Tied in with this attack on the veneration of saints is Calvin's wider reprobationof polytheistic beliefs. He summarily rejects the idea that God's honors be distributedamong other deities. That the saints, long departedfrom terrestrialexistence, should be worshiped and celebrated in a fashion which befits only the Divine Power, is an abominationwhich sullies the glory of God to the utmost. A final comment should be made in relationto the cult of the dead, which is associatedwith Catholicworship. This consists of the practiceof prayers and oblations for the departedspirits, and is likewise rejectedas contraryto scripturaldogma (Il, v, 741-743). In its broaderand more essentialproject, Calvinismaimedat a rejectionof the world, this being properly understoodnot as a withdrawalfrom the world, but as a rejection of things worldly. This means that althoughwe must appreciatethe works of God in natureand enjoy "with propriety and decency" the earthly comforts made available to us through Divine Beneficence, we must be eternally vigilant lest we succumb to the excesses of sensorial gratification,and make the latteran end in itself. It should also be purelyutilitarian,a means by which we can be assisted, not retarded, in our passage throughthe earth. We are thus commandedto use the world "as thoughwe used it not," to "resolutelyexertourselves" so as to banish from our terrestrialexistence every "intemperancein eating and drinking, and excessive delicacy, ambition,pride, haughtiness,and fastidiousness(in all sectors of life) . .. every care and affection, which would either seduce or disturb us from thoughts of the heavenly life, and attentionto the improvementof our souls" (Book III, pp. 785-791). The all-encompassingnatureof the rejectionof the world should be readilyevident from the above passage. We can also see the absolute necessity of submerginghuman reason and will under the will of God. This point is stressed in the doctrine of self-denial, which is foundational Calvinism. Because the whole of humannatureis corruptandcontaminated to by sin (Book II, pp. 275-276), we must not seek to glorify it. Instead,we must recognizethe evil that emanates from within ourselves, and which directs the totality of our existence towards unholiness. This recognition is never ending, and constitutes the principle of repentance. Essentially, we are dealing with a continuous mode of existing, an unceasing process of spiritualregenerationcomprising: (a) the recognitionof our perpetuallysinful state, and (b) the "mortificationof our flesh" (II, iii, 5). Such is the ethical basis supportingthe Calvinist project of rejection of the world. A numberof important aspects are immediatelyrevealedto us. We can see, for example, thatthe roots of ascetic guilt are found in this attitudeof perpetualvigilance againstsin. We can see the absoluterelianceon formallaw as a guiding principleof life. More importantly, is clear that it the repudiationof the sensuous is not limited to specific elements, but ultimately,to all that is most purelyhuman.The dissociationfrom sin and iniquityamountfundamentally a "denial to of ourselves," of all our "selfish considerations"(II, vi, 2). Certainly,the repudiationof physical gratificationas such is a crucial dimension in this attitude, and the most pertinent one with respect to the attack of Calvinistically-oriented Protestantism the "material"aspects of primitivereligion. Calvin's wordsto the effect that on the "deliverance from the body is an introductioninto complete liberty" (II, ix, 4) are crystal-clear in their practical implications. The aspect of fasting is of interest here. For if Calvinismupholdsabstentionfrom food as a valid exercise in sanctification,it is in its broader figurativesense, i.e. as a symbolic renunciationof the sensuous, that fastingtakes on greater significance. We must live in a perpetual fast, characterizedby "frugality and sobriety" toward all that is sensorially pleasurable; ultimately, from all that is most spontaneously human. At this point, the two interrelated levels of this ethical position can be established: (a) the specific level of sensorial gratification,and (b) the more inclusive level of humandeliberation. The first case is forcefully addressed by Calvin in his exhortationthat by divesting ourselves of all corporealinfluence we are introducedinto complete liberty.The second case

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is the notion that in order for us to be entirely free of sin and iniquity,we must strive for allencompassing self-denial. Both of these levels are crucially importantas we examine the and towards Protestantism stanceof Calvinistically-oriented particular generalfeaturesof thisworldly religion(s). The distrustof sensorial and emotional pleasures is directly relevantfor the specific question of African worship patterns(i.e. the elements of song and dance). The surrenderof human will and reason to formal religious law bears on the experiential, thisworldly foundationof West African religious models. The total rejectionof the individual, discussed above, is regulatedand made possible by strict adherence to abstractlegal principle, namely, to scripturallaw. In this formulationof religious experience, trust is logically found in a universal, atemporalsystem of rules, a "course of instructionfor all ages" (I, vi, 2), the complete observanceof which must be the basis of Christianlife. In the law we have not only a referencepoint for recognizingour own sinful nature, but also a constant source of control for the latter. The law "restrainsthe violence of the carnal desires" (II, vii, 10). In this way, sanctification and salvation are on achievedthroughthe systematicdependenceon scripturallaw. Its abandonment, the other hand, is "detestablesacrilege" (I, ix, 1), and leads to damnation.Withsuch a formalisticand universalistic basis of rejection of the world, Calvinism is directly opposed to "primitive" religion, exemplified here by both West African religion and Luso-BrazilianCatholicism. These religious orientations prioritize existence and particularismover abstract universal principle. Given this structuralconformationof Calvinism, it remainsfor us to addressthe issue of philosophicaluniversalityof this religion, specifically with regardto the existence of guidelines for the disseminationof Calvinistthoughtto the non-faithful.The aim here, therefore,is to establishthe existence of a sense of mission, a proselytizingspirit, a concernwith preaching to, and the conversion of, the heathen. It standsto reason that the power of Calvinism over non-Christianculture should be measured in referenceto the efficacy of the proselytizing effortsof its priesthood. Furthermore,this powerwouldbe intensifiedif every memberof the Calvinist congregationwere entrustedwith the office of spreadingthe Word,thus makingup collectively a formidablearrayof Christianwarriorsagainst non-Christiancultures. In this connection, Calvin's position is clear in the idea that the possession of the blessings of true religion is not meant to be confined to those only whom God has entrusted with such blessings; rather,they are to be shared, "dispensedfor the benefitof our neighbors" (Im, vii, 5). He explicitly invokes God's command: "Go preachthe Gospel to every creature," and thus secures for Calvinism divine legitimation for the apostolic office. The entire world of creation, in all its humandiversity,is to be "reducedto obedience in Christ" (IV, iii, 4), and Calvinist apostles must not, accordingly,be deterredin their efforts to spreadthe gospel by whateverobstacle-be that ignorance, indifference,or defiance. The task of opposing untrue faithsand proclaimingthe true one mustbe met with enthusiasmand diligence by everyone;it must not be "confined to public discourses, but extendalso to privateadmonitions"(IV, iii, 6).

AND THE SILENCING THEDRUMS OF SOUTHERNRELIGION The preceding analysis of Calvinism had two fundamental goals. First and most importantly,to stress the underlyingCalvinistattitudeof distrustof the world;secondly,to revealthe more concrete denunciationsof the theologian from Basel of what he saw as the heathen, idolatrousconstitutionof "Papism." With respectto the latterpoint, it is not unreasonableto suppose that all other forms of religion that were structurallysimilar to Catholicism would

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have met with equally fiery condemnation.The West African religious systems are a case in point, as we review theirbasic traits: complex ritual, magico-religiousorientation,the cult of the dead, sacrifices and offerings, and mediation by religious intermediaries. This being the case, the evangelists of the slavery period in the United States, deeply influenced by the Calvinist world-view, logically would have antagonizedthe religious manifestationsof the slaves which, like all forms of "popery," were consideredto be heathenismof the worst sort. As will be shown, social pressuresagainstthe continuationof Africanculturein the U.S. were in fact realizedthroughthe efforts of the missionaries. Our specific interesthere is, of course, the suppression of religious culture. But since African peoples as a rule make no formal distinction between the sacred and the secular, we must consider the Protestantreaction towardAfrican culture in general. Some of the aspects of this culture might, at first glance, appearto be purely secular, but are in fact closely interwovenwith the religious experience. No betterexamplescan be cited thangeneralmusical expression, i.e. dancing,drumming,and singing. Metraux's reporton Haitianvoodoo (1959) emphasizedthis intimaterelationshipof dancing with worshippatterns.The dancing theme is also closely relatedto African religious mythology, religious initiation, and funeral rites (Mbiti, 1970). As suggested above, the stern characterof Calvinism, with its avoidanceof all undisciplined behaviorand sensorial gratification, coupled with the apostolic zeal, would seem to ministersand preachersof the Old South to oppose vigorously have led the Calvinist-oriented the this-worldlyreligious practiceof the Africans, particularlyin its more sensorially-stimulating aspects, such as dancing. After all, these clergy were the closest and most important source of ethical and spiritualauthorityfor the black populationin the antebellum period. The record shows that this is precisely what happened. made great inroads Writingin referenceto the 19th century, a time when Protestantism U.S. blacks, Phillips informsus that "in the evangelicalchurchesdancingand religion among in were held to be incompatible.At one time on Thomas Dabney's plantation Mississippi, for instance, the whole Negro force fell captive in a Baptist revival and forswore the double shuffle. 'I done buss my fiddle an' my banjo, and done fling 'em away,'the most music-loving fellow on the place said to the preacher when asked for his religious experiences" (19918:314). Another writer (Jackson, 1930:110) states that the conversion into the Baptist doctrine normally led them to quickly abandon "their banjos, fiddles, double-shuffle and break-down."In the Sea Islands slaves were taught, again by the Baptists, that dancing and instrumental music were sinful, but they managedto insertthese elements into their religious worshipthroughthe spiritualsand what is knownas the "ring shout" (see Johnson, 1930:150151).6

The accounts left to us by 19th century travelers in the SouthernU.S. tend to confirm these investigations. Sir Charles Lyell noticed on the Hopeton plantationin Georgia that slaves were "passionatelyfond" of dancingand music, but more thantwentyviolins had been silenced by the Methodistmissionaries (1950:363). FredrikaBremer,travelingthroughantebellum SouthCarolinaand Georgia, writes about the amusementsof the slaves, sayingthat in these states "the preachershavedone awaywith dancingand the singing of songs" (1968:117, Vol. IT).This same observer was told by a planter that: ... the Methodistmissionaries, who are the most influentialand effective teachersand preachers among the Negroes are very angry with them for their love of dancing and music, and declare them to be sinful. And wheneverthe Negroes become Christian,they 6. According first-hand to and (e.g. Payne,1969:253-255) othersources reports (e.g. Marks,1974:87to was to 88), thereis reason believethattheringformof religious dancing notconfined theSeaIslands in area,butoccurred otherpartsof the UnitedStatesas well.

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give up dancing, havepreachingmeetings instead,and emptytheir musicaltalentsmerely in psalms and hymns (1968:290, Vol. 1968:290, vol. I). Olmsted, writing in the 1850s, comments on earlier times, when: .. .the slaves were accustomedto amuse themselves, in the eveningand on holidays, a great deal in dancing, and they took great enjoyment in this exercise. It was at length, however,preachedagainstandthe 'professors'so generallyinducedto use their influence against it, as an immoral practice that it has greatly 'gone out of fashion' (1856:128). But even in earlier times the growing evangelical influence on secular entertainmentis revealedin reportssuch as thatof Philip V. Fithian, who lived in Virginiaas a plantation tutor in the mid-1770s. He tells us that the religious zeal of the (Ana) Baptistsled to the "entire Banishmentof Gaming, Dancing, and Sabbath-Daydiversions" (1943:96). This basic opposition prevailedeverywhere in the South, as well as in other Protestant settings in the New World.' This fact is richly documentedin several reportsfor the British WestIndies (see, e.g. Goveia, 1965; Green, 1976; Simpson, 1978) showingthatthe Protestant suppressionof slave culture in those islands was equally harsh and systematic. In Protestant areaswhere Africanismspersisteddespitethis opposition, otherfactorswereat play.The West Indies are, of course, a case in point, but we must consider for that area the natureof the masters' reaction, first of all to aboriginalslave culture, and secondly, to missionaryactivity the (mastersin the Caribbeanareawere much more oppositional,even violent, toward workof the missionaries than in the American South).

7. It mustbe noted,of course,thatslavedancingand entertainment a remained typicalfeature of the of life churches era, plantation throughout slavery the opposition the evangelical notwithstanding. to the of culture the However, multiple-legal,social,ecclesiastical-impedimentsAfrican shaped pattern slavedancing theU.S.away from African the in and the end matrix, towards European of theacculturation continuum. prevalent of thefiddleandbanjo mainly former), opposed theAfrican The use the to as (but drumandotherAfrican instruments Southern, 1983,especially 43-47; 182-183; (see also, 53-54, pp. of Whereas Brazil in Caribbean in and 134-136,178-179),wasbutone manifestation thisphenomenon. the character black of danceandinstrumentality at onceapparent anyone was to familiar settings African with WestAfricandanceforms,in the UnitedStates,it is pointed (Herskovits, out 1972:270),"pure African is subtleties motor of behavior." areaof The exceptin certain dancing almostentirely lacking Louisiana be anexception thisregard, it mustbe treated in but of because theparticular may separately nature its colonization. of As forthereligious dimension the wereableto insert theirreligious dances the into proper, Africans of But revival. evenin that situation, were emotionally-charged atmosphere thecampmeeting special they not immuneto the disapproval the evangelists. of the Regarding all-black,unsupervised plantation elements style(notcontent) of fromtheAfrican (on exercise,it mayhaveretained religious background thispoint,see Rawick, 1979;Escott,1979;Raboteau, 1974;Blassingame, 1980),butit wasalsogreatly inhibited a veryharshandeffective (on by systemof surveillance the patrolsystemof the South,see Henry,1968). Ecstatic of as both and religious expression emerges thekeyfeature blackfolkreligions, during after Blackworshipping in have remained emoslavery. patterns, especially thecountryside, indeed strongly Writers Frazier like due tional,atheological, (1964)believethatthisis largely to thewhite experiential. revivalist of influence thelate18th early19th and who role centuries, hada central in themassconversion of theAfricans Christianity, set a modelof religious to and behavior them.Others, for suchas Raboteau that have beeninfluenced theworship of theblacks. themselves (1980:67) argue thewhites might by style Herskovits this viewandaddsthatblacks theU.S. managed retain formof in to the (1972)supports latter African excitement rhythmic (i.e. religious clapping, dancing, ring etc.) and stylesof singing, moving, it in of Protestantism. Whatever casemaybe, it remains fact the a "reinterpreted" thecontext evangelical thatProtestantism the hindered survival American of well defined,readilyrecognizable, on soil fullblownretentions African of worship.

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in We haveexaminedhere the relationshipof Catholicismin Brazil and Protestantism the United States with West African religions, in the frameworkof Max Weber's typology of religions of salvation. Catholicism, as practicedin colonial andImperialBrazil, differedfrom the orthodoxversion of Rome for having a complex of ritual and belief that broughtit much closer to "primitive" religion, as exemplified by the religious systems of the slaves. In referenceto the category of this-worldly religion, this brandof Catholicism was a structural of ascetic Protestantism the U.S., analogueto the West African religions. The other-worldly, on the otherhand, was antitheticalto them. The basic dichotomy in the analysis, therefore,is not betweenChristianand non-Christianmodels, but betweenthis-worldlyand other-worldly ones. Fromthis perspective, the structureof worshipand ritualof the differentgroupscan be contrastedmuch more effectively. The official posture of the ecclesiastical powers in relation to the native religion of the Afro-Americanswas normally one of antagonism,regardlessof whether these powers wore Catholic or Protestantstripes. However, this oppositional stance became attenuated, even transformed, by the variable of structuralconvergence, in the case of Catholicism, and The latterinvariably exacerbated structural proved divergence, in the case of Protestantism. by cultures. the more belligerentof the dominantreligious bodies in contact with non-Christian sects were Metrauxcorroboratesthis fact by reportingthatin Haiti the variousfundamentalist unrelentingin their attackon voodoo, because this religionwas equatedwith satanism,and, as such, "treatedwith totalintransigence"(1959:351). Herskovitswrites in the same vein that in made the retentionof the New World"the aggressive proselytizingactivities of Protestantism the inner forms of African religion as difficult as its outer manifestations"(1972:233). of The greatermalleabilityof Catholicismin Brazil and the markedantipathy Protestantin ism in the UnitedStatestowardsthe religion(s)of the Africanslaveshavebeen demonstrated this essay. As indicated, the coexistence of Protestantand West African religious content, particularlyas concerns the ritual and liturgicaldimensions, proveddifficult from the beginning; whereas the ritual life of Brazilian Catholicism allowed, in dialectical fashion, for significant levels of syncretism as well as preservationof ethnic identity for the minority group, within the larger process of nationalconsolidation.

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