Candomblé Ketu (or Queto in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

) is the largest and most influential branch (''nation'') of Candomblé, a religion practiced in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. The word Candomblé means "ritual dancing or gather in honor of gods" and Ketu is the name of the

Ketu KETU (1120 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Catoosa, Oklahoma. The station is owned by Antonio Perez, through licensee Radio Las Americas Arkansas, LLC. The station was licensed originally to Atoka, Oklahoma, and operated for many years ...

region of Benin. Its

liturgical language A sacred language, holy language or liturgical language is any language that is cultivated and used primarily in church service or for other religious reasons by people who speak another, primary language in their daily lives. Concept A sacr ...

, known as ''yorubá'' or ''Nagô'', is a dialect of

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

. Candomblé Ketu developed in the early 19th century and gained great importance to Brazilian heritage in the 20th century.

History

''Queto'' is a system of beliefs that merges the

Yoruba mythology The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitu ...

(brought to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

by Yoruba slaves) with Christianity and Indigenous American traditions. Queto developed in the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

. Yoruba slaves carried with them various religious customs, including a trance and divination system for communicating with their ancestors and spirits, animal sacrifice, and sacred drumming and dance. Its origins are entwined with the religious and beneficent brotherhoods (''irmandades'') organized by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

among ethnic Yoruba slaves; the Order of Our Lady of the Good Death (''Nossa Senhora da Boa Morte''), for women, and the

Order of Our Lord of the Martyrdom Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(''Nosso Senhor dos Martírios''), for men. The religion grew popular among slaves because it was a way for Yoruba slaves to maintain their culture and express independence. Numerous terreiros of the Ketu branch of Candomblé have received historic status and government protection from the

National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage The National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (, IPHAN) is a heritage register of the federal government of Brazil. It is responsible for the preservation of buildings, monuments, structures, objects and sites, as well as the register and ...

(IPHAN). Ilê Axé Iyá Nassô Oká in Salvador was the first non-Roman Catholic and first Afro-Brazilian religious place of worship to receive protected heritage status in Brazil. Ilê Odó Ogé, also known as Terreiro Pilão de Prata, has protected heritage status from the state of Bahia.

Religious practices

As the largest branch of the Candomblé religion, Ketu origins have a major influence on the religion as a whole. Although there are various branches of Candomblé, the foundational beliefs are the same. They differ based on names, songs, and rituals primarily due to no written scripture. Each branch possesses a unique deity under the Supreme god Olódùmarè who is seen as unequaled and beyond all existence. Ketu's deities are called Orisha (sl. and pl.). Orisha control the destiny of the people and act as a guardian. Orisha also represent different forces in nature, foods, colors, animals, and days of the week. In Ketu, Candomblé storytelling and animal sacrifices are important. Storytelling is expected to be done in a clear and precise way in order to be passed down to further generations. Animals such as pigs, goats, cows, sheep, and chicken are often sacrificed. Animals are seen as sacred, so they are often sacrificed as a way to transfer energy between nature, humans, and the Orisha.

Catholic resistance

There was a great deal of Catholic resistance due to the belief that the religion was devil's work. Slaves often incorporated Catholic Saints in order to keep their practices a secret. Catholics wanted slaves to convert to their religion and feared retaliation if slaves became too independent.Dom Phillips
"Afro-Brazilian religions struggle against Evangelical hostility"
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', February 6, 2015. Retrieved on 2016-02-22.

Pantheon

* Olorum (Supreme Being) * Exu *

Ogum Ogun or Ogoun (Yoruba: Ògún, Portuguese: Ogum, Gu; also spelled Oggun or Ogou; known as Ogún or Ogum in Latin America) is a spirit that appears in several African religions. He attempted to seize the throne after the demise of Obatala, who r ...

* Oxóssi *

Oxum Ọṣun, is an orisha, a spirit, a deity, or a goddess that reflects one of the manifestations of the Yoruba people, Yorùbá Supreme Being in the Ifá oral tradition and Yoruba religion, Yoruba-based religions of West Africa. She is one of ...

* Oxalufã * Oxaguiã * Orixá Okô * Olissá * Orunmilá * Xangô * Ayrá * Iemanjá * Ossãe * Oyá * Obaluaiê * Omolu *

Jagun Jagun is a small market in Margherita Tehsil in Tinsukia District of north-eastern state Assam, India. It is located around away from the nearest coalfield Tipong, away from Lekhapani, from away Tirap Gaon and away from Ledo. Jagun is c ...

* Nanã Buruku * Oxumarê * Obá * Ewá * Ibêji * Logun Edé *

Iroko Iroko (also known as in Igbo language, '' in the Urhobo language of Southern Nigeria, and as odum in the Kwa languages of Ghana) is a large hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa that can live up to 500 years. This is the common n ...

* Olorokê * Apaoká * Iyami Oxorongá *

Egungun Egungun, (''egúngún'' with Yorùbá language tone marks) in the broadest sense is any Yoruba masquerade or masked, costumed figure. More specifically, it is a Yoruba masquerade for ancestor reverence, or the ancestors themselves as a collectiv ...

(the ancestors)

References

Books

* Yvonne, Daniel
''Dancing Wisdom: Embodied Knowledge in Haitian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Candomblé''
University of Illinois Press, 2005, .

External links

:: Everything you wanted to know about Santeria

Candomblé Ketu

a major Ketu ''house'' in Salvador
Ama, A Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade

Qualia Folk