Marcelina da Silva: Reconstructing Orixá Religion in Brazil

Brazil´s northeastern state of Bahia is home to the Afro-Brazilian religion of candomblé. The Casa Branca terreiro or temple is one of the oldest, and, according to oral tradition, was founded after a voyage to Africa undertaken by two early priestesses, African freedwoman Marcelina da Silva and her ialorixá, the latter remembered only by her ritual title, Iyá Nassô. Until now, there has been very little historical evidence to clarify the lives of these two women, or to support (or discredit) their legendary trip to Africa. Interweaving data from the oral tradition archival research with information uncovered during archival research, this paper traces the life history of Marcelina da Silva, from her early experiences as a slave in Bahia in the 1830s and the political context of her journey to Africa with her daughter, Maria Magdalena, and Iyá Nassô. It also chronicles Marcelina’s rise to wealth and power during a second stay in Bahia that began in the 1840s, and details her participation in a transatlantic network of Nagô (i.e., Yoruba) freedmen active in promoting the orixá religion in Brazil, a group which included other important figures in the history of candomblé, such as the babalaô Bamboxê Obitikó. In addition, the paper presents important new evidence on Iyá Nassô and her life in Bahia.