Praised by Nei Lopes and Luiz Antonio Simas, historian José Beniste debuts in Brazilian Civilization with a pioneering study on Candomblés in Rio de Janeiro.
In History of Candomblés in Rio de Janeiro , historian and ogã José Beniste brings together documents, testimonies, and oral histories about the African-based religion in Rio de Janeiro, dating back to the 1970s. In this pioneering study, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the enslavement process and the resistance strategies that were fundamental to the formation of Candomblé in the city.
The work also highlights Bahian influences on Rio de Janeiro, demonstrating how the interaction between the two cities was crucial to the development of Candomblé. The author introduces the main figures of the Terreiros and Axés, who play important roles in the preservation and dissemination of Afro-Brazilian religions. Furthermore, Beniste pays special attention to central rites, ceremonies, and festivities, such as the worship of the Orixás, emphasizing the importance of Yoruba as a heritage.
History of Candomblé in Rio de Janeiro offers a comprehensive overview not only of the history of African-based religions in Rio de Janeiro, including the people who keep these religions alive, but also presents how this religious practice contributed to the formation of Brazil's cultural identity.
"Professor José Beniste's research and books on the worship of African orishas in Brazil bring the 'speak from within.' An ogã initiated more than forty years ago by the venerable Mãe Cantu de Airá, of Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá, Beniste combines solid research and oral records to contribute to the history and maintenance of the memory of one of the most important Afro-Brazilian cultural complexes, built between Bahia and Rio de Janeiro: Candomblé Ketu." – Luiz Antonio Simas, author of O corpo encantado das ruas
"[Beniste] tells the story of the founding of more than thirty Candomblé terreiros and their descendant houses in the state. Beniste represents a return to the past. The book begins by returning to Africa and retraces the civic rupture that ended with Black people being exported as merchandise in the holds of ships. It goes on to present the strategies created by enslaved Africans to live their faith in the new territory, syncretism perhaps being the most important of them." – Isabel Reis, Quatro Cinco Um
