Which Brazilian Goddess Would You Call for Help?
Which Brazilian Goddess Would You Call for Help?
Insights and an Excerpt from Dance Among the Flames
As I was researching and writing my new dark fiction standalone, what fascinated me the most were the syncretic religions that blended African Yoruba, Indigenous Brazilian traditions, and Portuguese Catholicism.
In the Umbanda religion—known as Candomblé in Bahia—mediums connected the followers directly to gods and spirits for guidance, help, and protection. Each of these spiritual entities had distinct characteristics. When matched with believers, the characteristics of a god or spirit can illuminate a person’s strengths and weaknesses and help them to better understand themselves.
During Umbanda ceremonies where the mediums channel the gods, worshipers will gravitate toward the channeled orixá who could help them the most.
In this excerpt from Dance Among the Flames, Serafina Olegario seeks wisdom from an Umbanda priestess known as a Mãe de Santos or Mother of Saints. Serafina has only recently discovered the syncretic religion because, as with most Brazilians, she was raised Catholic. The heresy she hears goes against everything she believes.
Excerpt from Dance Among the Flames
“You are the daughter of Yansã and Pomba Gira, but Yansã is your god. She will protect you and guide you, but you must take care to never offend her. Every god has their own personality, strengths, and weaknesses. Yansã is very powerful, not because she is old like Oxalá or Yemanjá, but because she is a warrior like her former husband Xangô. We associate her with Saint Barbara or Joan of Arc. She is an Amazónia, a woman of great height and strength.”
“I don’t understand,” Serafina said. “How can you associate your pagan gods with Catholic saints?”
“How not? When the Catholic priests imposed their religion upon the slaves it was only natural that they associated these new deities and saints with the ones they already knew. Oxalá, for instance, is the son of Olorum, the oldest of the gods. Olorum is the very origin of things; the almighty. But he is too far away for his people to reach, so we seldom pray to him directly. But his son is a powerful force in our religion. He is the white dove. He is purity and charity. He is Jesus Christ.”
“This is crazy.”
Serafina knew bits and pieces of her country’s spiritualism but, like many Brazilians, did not take it seriously. She might praise Yemanjá, the Lady of the Sea, and ask her for favors every New Year’s Eve, but she never thought of that as actually praying to a god.
“Relax, my child. All will be fine. Let me tell you about Yansã, the Goddess of the River Niger, Queen of the Wind and Rain, Bringer of Change.”
Serafina gasped. “What did you say? Queen of what?”
“Queen of the Wind and Rain. What’s wrong? Does this bother you in some way?”
“I’ve heard that phrase, but I can’t remember where.”
“I’m sure you have. “Yansã is very well known. She is a powerful and mercurial goddess, prone to fury and ready to battle injustice. She is beautiful but can appear cold and distant to those who do not know her. She prefers the clothing of men and is the only god, who dares to confront the egums, the spirits of the dead. She is very stubborn and will not give up once she has set herself to a task. She is also protective of her children and will destroy everything and anyone who threatens them. She is fierce and cold and pure as ice—and is very difficult to corrupt. This is your god, Serafina, your orixá. Praise her, honor her, and she will guide you throughout your life.”
“But why is Yansã my god?”
“Every person is born from the spirit of an orixá. You were born from Yansã. Does she not seem familiar to you? Do you not see yourself in her description? In her characteristics?”
Serafina nodded in thought. She was very tall, especially for a Brazilian, and there was no question about her beauty. It was hard, however, to think of herself as a warrior. These days, she felt so vulnerable and victimized by life except when it concerned Carlinhos. Just thinking about her son and how she would ensure a good future for him made Serafina feel strong and invincible.
Isolda smiled. “You are beginning to understand your true nature, yes?”
Serafina shrugged. “I don’t know. In some ways, I guess. But what about the men’s clothing? That’s definitely not me.”
“There are many ways to wear men’s clothing, but you have not grown into that aspect of yourself. You have been too busy being a desperate girl to become a woman of power.”
Does this Brazilian goddess resonate with you?
Perhaps one of these other Umbanda orixás from Dance Among the Flames will intrigue you more.
Yemanjá is the mother of all orixás, the feminine spirit of creation, the protector of women, and patron spirit of the rivers and ocean. Yemanjá is often connected to the Virgin Mary and depicted as a mermaid in shimmering blues and silver. She is a compassionate and forgiving goddess from whom Brazilians of all religions seek favor every New Year’s Eve.
“Back when our African ancestors were sold to the Portuguese traders and brought across an endless and violent ocean, they prayed to Yemanjá, the goddess of the sea, to preserve them. She answered by delivering them to Brazil.”
—Adriana, Dance Among the Flames
Pomba Gira can refer to a single entity or the collective female manifestation of the phalanx of Exú spirits. Known erroneously as Exú consort or the Devil’s wife, Pomba Gira is the wanton personification sexuality, beauty, and desire. Vain and self-centered, Pomba Gira indulges in decadent behavior but can be a fierce protectress who will fight to destroy enemies on either side of morality if called.
A crude laugh caught Serafina’s attention. One of the mediums was pressing herself against Carmen’s gentleman friend, delighting in his discomfort. When Adolpho tried to back away, the woman grabbed his ass, pulled him in for a good feel, then shoved him away.
The medium turned on Serafina with a lascivious smile. “What’s the matter, girl? You never seen these before?” She squeezed her breasts together, nearly popping them out of her white peasant blouse, then sashayed across the room.
“You crave power, girl. I can smell it. It hangs on you like sweat.” She ran a finger up Serafina’s arm and sniffed. “Who are you, I wonder?”
“My name is—”
“I don’t give a fuck what your name is,” she said, with a cruel laugh. “I want to know if you know who you are.”
—Excerpt from Dance Among the Flames
About DANCE AMONG THE FLAMES
From the national bestselling author of the Lily Wong thriller series comes a “stunningly original novel” (F. Paul Wilson) about a desperate mother who rises from the slums of Brazil to become a powerful wielder of Quimbanda magic. Across forty years, three continents, and a past incident in 1560 France, Serafina Olegario tests the boundaries of love, power, and corruption as she fights to escape her life of poverty and abuse. Serafina’s quest begins in Brazil when she’s possessed by the warrior goddess Yansã, who emboldens her to fight yet threatens to consume her spirit. Fueled by power and enticed by Exú, an immortal trickster and intermediary to the gods, Serafina turns to the seductive magic of Quimbanda. Passion. Horror. Betrayal. It’s dangerous to dance in the fire. But when you come from nothing, you have nothing to lose.
“Eldridge masterfully navigates the nuances of Brazilian religious syncretism and takes a deep and daring look into the issues of colorism, class, generational trauma, and physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Spanning decades and generations, this is both a page-turner and an emotional powerhouse.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
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About Tori Eldridge
Tori Eldridge is the national bestselling author of the Lily Wong mystery thriller series—THE NINJA DAUGHTER, THE NINJA’S BLADE, and THE NINJA BETRAYED—nominated for the Anthony, Lefty, and Macavity Awards and winner of Suspense Magazine’s Crimson Scribe Award for Best Book of 2021. Her shorter works appear in the inaugural reboot of Weird Tales Magazine and other horror, dystopian, and literary anthologies. Her short story, “Missing on Kaua‘i” appears in the 2022 Mystery Writers of America anthology, CRIME HITS HOME. Her horror screenplay THE GIFT, which inspired DANCE AMONG THE FLAMES, earned a semi-finalist spot for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Born and raised in Honolulu, Tori’s deep interest in world culture and religions has prompted her to visit nine countries, including Brazil.
Category: Interviews, On Writing
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