Caboclos and the spirit of Indigenous people in Umbanda

This article is a continuation of “Umbanda, an overview”. If this is your first Umbanda article please start with the overview first.

In Sociology caboclos are an ethnicity in Brazil that comes from the mixing of Indigenous and European ancestry. Brazil is not European, is not Indigenous and is not African, Brazil is the mixing of these three people. Understanding this mixing as part of creating a new national identity is crucial to understand Umbanda.

Umbanda was formalized by Zélio de Moraes when channeling the Caboclo das Sete Flechas (lit trans. Caboclo of the Seven Arrows). Some may not know but on the day before Zélio formalized Umbanda he channeled a preto-velho (lit trans. Old Black Men) at his home. This duo of guiding spirits is the basis of Umbanda, caboclo (Indigenous + European) and preto-velho (African), making Umbanda from the start an essentially Brazilian religion.

The goal of having a caboclo announcing the new religion was to show on one hand the vigour that the guiding spirit is associated with and on the other the humility of presenting itself as a caboclo in a society that was still racist.

One of my favourite Umbanda authors, Aluizio Fontennelle in 1952 in his book O Espiritismonno conceito das Religioes e a Lei de Umbanda remind us that highly elevated spirits are above material constraints of race or gender and can present themselves with any appearance that they like. For a Christian a good spirit may present itself as an angel, to a shaman in Korea he can present itself with Korean features, to a Hindu as South Asian or with features that the culture expects (for example the blue skin of avatars). Zélio channeled a spirit that chosen to present itself as the mixing of Indigenous and European as a sign that the religion doesn’t give preference to this or that race but welcomes all as spirits that are in a constant progress of evolution.

 

The earliest painting of the Caboclo Sete Flechas. Currently displayed at the Umbanda centre founded by Zélio de Moraes. Author unknown.

The caboclos are associated with knowledge of nature, Indigenous rituals and medicinal herbs. They are part of the line of Oxossi and can have different names depending on the frequency that they vibrate. A caboclo that vibrates in the frequency of Ogum, the Yoruba god of war will bring the name caboclo and a second name that represents this warrior essence. Not all caboclos in Umbanda are a mix of Indigenous and European and some may be "fully" Indigenous.

The first written source I could find that mentions caboclos in the religious context, and not ethnic, is from 1937, the book Xangos do Nordeste by Albino Gonçalves Fernandes. The first sentence that mentions caboclos says that Jesus is commonly referred to in their rituals as the Good Caboclo, the Supreme Chief of the Universe, showing the high regard and affinity that Umbanda has for Christianity since its beginning. The second sentence, a compliment of Saint John Evangelist and Saint John the Baptist, showing the reverence and showing the legitimacy of the saints as representatives of the popular ethos.

The earliest source with names of caboclos that are channeled in Umbanda centres is from the Fontenelle book from 1952 mentioned above. I’m reproducing the list below with their literal translations:

Caboclo Pedra Negra (Caboclo Black Stone), Caboclo Quebra Galho (Caboclo Break Stick), Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas (Caboclo of the Seven Crossroads), Caboclo das Sete Matas (Caboclo of the Seven Woods), Caboclo do Sol e da Lua (Caboclo of the Sun and Moon). Caboclo da Pedra Branca (Caboclo White Stone), Caboclo do Vento (Caboclo of the Winds), Caboclo das Cachoeiras (Caboclo of the Waterfalls), Caboclo Treme-Terra (Caboclo Earthquake), and of course, Caboclo Sete Flechas (Caboclo of the Seven Arrows).

Some caboclos are accompanied by a proper name and cannot be translated:

Caboclo Aimore, Caboclo Velho Urubatão, Caboclo Zuri, Caboclo Umbu, Uruhatão, Jurema, Tupis, Aimorés, Guaranis, Tamoios, Rompe-Mato, Caboclo Tupaíba, 

The spirits that announced Umbanda as a formal religion, Caboclo Sete Flechas, starts a pattern that is followed by other “sevens”: Seven Crossroads, Seven Woods, and others. The number 7 is an important number in esoteric philosophy as being the triumph of spirit (3 - Father, Son and Holy Ghost) over matter (4 - Air, fire, water and earth). The choice of the Seven Arrows as being the first public guiding spirit in Umbanda is also a clear sign of the esoteric roots of the religion.

This article was written by Eduardo Guimarães and registered in the Brazilian National Library. The content is copyrighted. Reproduction for sale or profit is prohibited. With reproduction without a profit motive is allowed with the consent of the author.

 

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