“Terreiro da Casa Branca”

Today we had the opportunity to visit the first and oldest Candomblé temple in Salvador, Bahia. The house was founded and created by three Nigerian women who were thought to be very cultured and intelligent. In the beginning, they invited all Africans from different ethnicities who were associated with Catholicism. Then eventually, Candomblé came under and flourished from there. In the entrance of the building, the first object that stood out was this huge boat that is used as a fountain of water at times. The boat is precisely faced towards the continent of Africa, since that is the origin of both their religion and culture. Upon entering the temple, the practitioner poured water out the entrance of the door. He later than explained that the water is a way to clean out negative energy. The fact that we were coming from outdoors, we may be carrying different types of energy or  negative emotions. However, once you’re inside the temple all the negative energy you may be carrying is blocked and only positive energy is radiated. That’s particularly the reason why guests should wear light colors because they allow for good energy to be received. Whereas, dark colors, especially black, blocks the energy and represents the absence of life. Musical instruments are also vital to their religion. They are seen as sacred objects so not just anyone can touch these instruments. They are also fed once a year in order to bring contact from the universe to planet earth. 

In the picture posted, the main color that takes away from the eye, is the color light blue. At first, I thought the temple is always decorated this color but turns out, they frequently change the color of the papers before each ceremony. The color is changed depending on the orixas. It may be red at times, white, or green. I found this interesting because each color represents something different and is also linked to a force of nature. Everything in nature is respected, therefore the colors are also highly respected as well. 

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