No abstract

Some forms of this mytho-praxis become visual and digital-hence the myriad of videos, collages and memes circulating on social networks. The satirical cartoon showing wild animals living in towns like humans while the latter are locked in their apartments can be interpreted as a new version of the classic mythological theme of ontological inversion between humans and non-humans. Myth therefore is a dispositive for generating alternative modes of explanation and action and possible future scenarios in times of radical incertitude.

This paper intends to analyze how Afro-Brazilian religious minorities (like Candomblé and Umbanda) are responding to the Covid-19 crisis in Brazil both at a religious and political level. Drawing a comparison between the reactions of Neo-Pentecostal churches and Afro-Brazilian religions, we will describe how the pandemic outbreak and the social distancing measures allowed Afroreligious practitioners to occupy new online spaces. In doing so, these religions found new modalities of practising rituals and transmitting sacred knowledge in the digital world. Despite the fundamental importance of bodily engagement in these religious expressions, Candomblé and Umbanda practitioners are increasing their presence online through producing different types of pedagogical, educational and ritual contents. While on the one hand, this new content aims at promoting social distancing and sanitary precautionary measures, on the other hand, it involves a restructuring of the dynamics of legitimation and power that are present in Afro-religious social structures. We will analyze these changing dynamics as consequences of the "crisis of the body" that resulted from the lockdown measures.

This paper explores Candomblé rituals from the perspective of human-environment relations, taking into account not only human followers, but also animals, plants and artefacts that are necessary for the making of Candomblé terreiros. While this process of interaction between different realms is codified by strict rules and prescriptions, it also adapts according to the environment where the Candomblé community is located. Drawing from fieldwork data collected in a Candomblé terreiro that has been active in Italy for almost two decades, this paper aims at presenting the challenges and adaptations of the religious practice in different natural landscapes. By taking into account the spatial composition and the material culture involved in the Italian terreiro and its references in Brazil, this work rethinks how Candomblé practitioners relate to the cultural and ecological environments.

This paper focuses on the relationship between food practices, preparation of Candomblé ritual offerings and performance of rituals in a transnational case study. My interest here is to consider two ethnographic accounts of Candomblé rituals in Italy and Brazil. I will analyze how Italian practitioners perceive different aspects of the preparation of ritual offerings and what values are at stake in the cooking and consumption of food and food offerings. I will show how memory and the senses are essential to build a new idea of familiarity and to learn new skills within the ritual practice.