The Candomblé is one of the African culture’s traditions practiced in Brazil, in which survive the ancestral beliefs in the African « Orixas ». Amongst the African divinities, we can cite Ogum (god of war), Oxum (god of rivers) etc… The Candomblé is a mix of African animism and European catholicism. At the time of slavery, black slaves brought to Brazil kept their rituals and beliefs while Portuguese impelled catholicism. That melting-pot of cultures gave birth to the Candomblé. It was prohibited by the Brazilian government until 1984. Today, more than 3 millions people claim kinship with that culture, Baίa being the place where it it the most popular. In other parts of the country, similar practices can be found. Candomblé exists also in South America and several islands.

During the Candomblé, the participants enter in trance listening to the sound of drums and canticles invoking the gods. Orixas are received in the practitioners’ bodies. Each Orixa has its color, its smell and its canticles. Capoeira is influenced by the Candomblé, according to some people in capoeiragem. Several songs of Capoeira have the same structure than the canticles of the Candomblé. Some songs directly praise the Candomblé and it is not unusual to see a capoeirist praying his Orixa for protection. It is also common for capoerists to wear a protecting necklace.