A ''mãe-de-santo'' or ''mãe de santo'' (, plural mães de santo ) is a priestess of

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West and Central Africa, especi ...

Umbanda Umbanda () is a religion that emerged in Brazil during the 1920s. Deriving largely from Kardecist spiritism, Spiritism, it also combines elements from African diasporic religions, Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catho ...

and

Quimbanda Quimbanda, also spelled Kimbanda (), is an Afro-American religion, Afro-Brazilian religion practiced primarily in the urban city centers of Brazil. Quimbanda focuses on male spirits called ''exús'' as well as their female counterparts, ''pomba ...

, the Afro-Brazilian religions. Those Portuguese words mean literally "saint's mother", a

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...

of the Yoruba word ''iyalorisha'', a title given to female leaders of the Yoruba religion. ''Iya'' means "mother", and the contraction ''l'orisha'' means "of

orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...

", adapted into Portuguese as "of saint" due to the traditionally Catholic-centric culture that surrounds that language. The priestesses are more venerated in African-Brazilian religions than the priests, who are called '' pais-de-santo''. In the Afro-Brazilian religions, the priestesses and priests are seen as the owners of tradition, knowledge and culture; it is their responsibility to pass those on to the new generations, because there is no

religious text Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

to use for the record.

References

Religious syncretism in Brazil Brazilian mythology Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé Umbanda {{Brazil-reli-stub

See also

References