Quimbanda, Palo and other Afro-American religions are really getting famous
- a short reflection -
In Brazil, Quimbanda is everywhere now. In the last few years, Palo Mayombe has started to spread into Brazil and expand its presence. This is not bad per se, although I have written elsewhere that this expansion is not to my taste. But I digress. I knew that Quimbanda and Palo were also gaining territory all over the world, with many books being published in English (although only a few are trustworthy). But I had a shock the other day…
Ok, it was not quite the shock, but I was surprised. I was reading Nick Farrel´s Why Magic Fails, and he brought to the table (although not when talking about the subject of the book) both Quimband and Palo.
I was not astonished by the fact that Farrell knows about Quimbanda and Palo, but that those religions are so commonplace now that there is no need to worry anymore about talking about them, because people will know exactly what you are talking about.
This is a little bit weird. I remember in the 1990s, in Brazil, that people were generally not familiar with Quimbanda. When I first heard the word Quimbanda it was veiled in secrecy. It was synonymous with evil magic and vile sacrifices. Umbandistas and other people who were then loosely familiar with it shivered at the thought of participating in a Quimbanda session. A bit of exaggeration, for sure, but it came with the mystery and the veiled atmosphere of Quimbanda then.
Suddenly, all of that has transformed. Now I see Quimbanda in a book by a magician writing from Rome. Not a bad thing per se, as I have written previously. My main problem with all that exposition is that it’s part of a greater process that is shaping Quimbanda into something that is not necessarily representative of what it is. I don’t want to be orthodox here, and I will develop this argument later in a more refined fashion, but this is not about a singular truth or the only right way to do something. It is quite the opposite, as it seems that the main image of Quimbanda is being dictated by a certain few strains of it.
But this is all a topic for another conversation.
While I am here, I want to recommend Why Magic Fails by Nick Farrell. It is quite an interesting book that, at worst, will give you some insight about how to improve on your magical practice.