Leiden University Student Repository

Magalhães de Oliveira, Julia (2015)

A Lens to Candomblé: Afro-Brazilian culture through the work of Pierre Verger

Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)

This thesis concerns the Afro-Brazilian cult of Candomblé, focusing on the work of Pierre Verger. The research presents Candomblé as a cultural-religious practice, which is the result of a cross-cultural exchange, referring to the photography and discourse of Pierre Verger and other authors, such as Reginaldo Prandi, Roger Bastide and Babatunde Lawal. This work introduces Pierre Verger’s intimate relationship with Candomblé and the north-eastern Brazilian state of Bahia. The thesis reviews the history and constitution of Candomblé in the slave trade context of colonialism, its Yoruba roots, mythology, public ritual and initiation rite. Finally, the thesis attempts to frame Candomblé in an art historical perspective through the Yoruba metaphor of artistic creativity and the concept of orí.

candomblé

Afro-Brazilian culture

orisha

ethnicity

interculturality

Author

Magalhães de Oliveira, Julia

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Arts and Culture

Supervisors

Zijlmans, C.J.M.

ECTS Credits

25

Language

en