Well my
friends are gone and I on my own until I can head to pick my family up tomorrow
from the airport in Rio. Brazil is beautiful. It is filled with
friendly warm people and lush vegetation. It seems to love equally its fruit
and carbs...And caipirinhas! Its coast is dotted with broken sea glass,
mountains and cold waters…and of course speedos and thongs J It has been a great trip so far.
My ICE
group has traveled to both India and Brazil to study issues of poverty, faith
and wealth. India brought me face to face with the direst poverty that
showed itself in the form of starvation and lack of sanitation. It was
the ugliest poverty I have seen. Brazil is different. The size of
their favelas is no less enormous…maybe more so, but starvation is not the face
of Brazil's poor (for the most part). We have heard it over and over and
over again…corruption is the face of Brazil's poverty. African Brazilians
are the poorest of the poor here. Slavery and colonization is the
backbone of poverty here. When slaves were emancipated things got better
on paper…but not in reality. While in
slavery a slave had somewhere to live, something to eat, possibility of some
health care, some protection, maybe a few had some education. When freedom came they were immediately
released with only the clothes on their back…no land, no protection, no health care,
no home, no education, nothing to eat and mostly no one to help them. There was never a systematic structure in
place to give those oppressed a level playing field with the rest of society…they
were doomed to remain the forgotten, the down trodden, the oppressed even
though they were free.
Today many
with African blood in the veins live in the favelas. The drug lords who rule the favelas and fight
for territory from the police feed drug addiction, which is often the sin of
the middle class. Police in many ways operate not as the balm or Savior
of the favela, but instead as another drug kingpin…taking profits for
themselves and escalating violent escapades. Politicians literally give
“reals” or money to the poor in the favelas to go and vote for them…making
promises they never intend to keep. Secondary education while public and
free is poor quality…leaving most middle class and wealthy putting their
children in private schools.
Universities also public and free have their own methods for only allowing
the elite to enter…high-test scores, grades, etc. Most children who are poor have to leave
school before they finish High School in order to get a job or take care of
someone in their family.
The
church is in many ways is still splintered…Catholic against Protestant…both
against Candomble. Candomble is a religion that was derived from Africa
and was largely practiced by slaves.
Today it is embedded in the Brazilian culture in many ways…synchronistic
in many religious services. Yet many Protestants
and Catholics still push back against the presence of Candomble as evil or
sinful. (These are generalizations and
don't represent every one or every group…but this is a thread that seems to run
deep in the culture here.)
In
Candomble there are loud drums, lots of dancing, singing, clapping – it seems
to be a complete release for people to become completely absorbed in something
altogether different than their present surroundings…like being overtaken by a
trance (or in charismatic circles it would be seen as being “slain in the
Spirit”). Its services go long into the
night…and there is no evil spirit in Candomble.
There is only good and blessing.
It is easy to see how it brought meaning particularly to the early
slaves. They practiced it as something
they could carry with them from their home country, telling stories of their
parent’s God’s and Spirits. They
practiced after their masters slept.
They had few moments alone to themselves where they could celebrate and
pray…so it was a time to fully immerse yourself and give way to releasing your
fear so that you might celebrate with hope for your future. Prayer was essential but it was always to the
beat of a drum…and as the colonial whites heard the singing, praising,
clapping, etc. they thought, “Aren’t our slaves happy!” But of course they were
not.
I can’t
help but see our own country in many things we have learned particularly when
dealing with our own colonization and how that continues to often play into who
is poor, imprisoned, undereducated, under represented in today’s society. It’s a piece of the puzzle we need to be
honest about if we really want to see wrongs made right and everyone have an
equal opportunity. But power, wealth and
position are very difficult things to give up…and I wonder if any of us really
can free ourselves from their clutches.
Salvador
The Lighthouse in Salvador
Its a little windy up here :)
Sao Fransisco Church in Pelourinho
The interior of Sao Fransisco Church!!!!
Church of the Black People -- so called because slaves were used to build it beginning in 1704 (like most all other churches in Salvador) but this is the ONLY one where they were allowed to also worship. Their labor created sanctuaries for others to worship…but only one allowed them entrance.
Interior of the Church of the Black People
Its worship is anachronistic in nature…catholic theology mostly and candomble practice and feel of worship style. Look how PACKED it was for a mass! Standing room only for a service that was over 1.5 hours.
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