Sunday 26 May 2024

Irmandade de Boa Morte /Sisters of Good Death

 








On my first trip to Brazil whilst travelling from the capital Brazillia to Salvador and hot on  the heels of my visit to "The Valley of the Dawn" (Vale de Amanhecer) I visited a small town in Bahia called "Cachoeira"  famous for its "Sisters of  Good Death " who tend to be of Afro Brazillian heritage and have a devotion to Our Lady  (Nossa Senhora de Boa Morte). Every  year on Aug 15th (Feast of Assumption) after Sunday Mass, the town led by the Sisters hold a procession (dressed in white) with their statue of Nossa Senhora.The significance of the colour white is linked to the purity of Our Lady and that of the Orixá "Oxala" Afterwards in the town there is Samba dancing and in the evening their are further ceremonies in the Afro Brazilian spiritual tradition. I attended one of these in which there  was a dance in honour of the Orixa "Omolu"  and popcorn was thrown on the ground.


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