M'kumba
M’kumba is an ongoing project that highlights how the Afro-religious stand against the big religious intolerance in Brazil. Its name is an ancient Kongo language word used to describe sorceresses and wisemen, but for centuries has been pejoratively used to describe the African religiosities in the country. For three hundred years, almost 5 million Yoruba, Bantu and Ewe peoples were brought to Brazil to work as slaves. Based on the medieval Christian theories that endorsed the usage of the African slave labor force, these populations had their bodies kidnaped as well their deities associated to a devilish force to be combated. This way, religions like Candomblé and Umbanda were forbidden in many parts of Brazil till 1970. Even after its legalization, on the last years, extremist Christian groups have been attacking temples and priests. Only in 2021, over 600 religious attacks were reported in the country. Nowadays, despite the fact that 56% of the Brazilians are Afro-descendant, less than 8% declare themselves as Afro-religious due to fear of being discriminated or attacked. As response for this centenary violence, and for being an Afro-religious priest in formation, I’ve started registering a younger generation proud of their religiosity while in their moments of faith. My intention is to somehow combat the prejudice, through an intimate perspective, show my understanding of these religions and somehow change this panorama in Brazil.












