1- History of Umbanda
At the end of 1908, Zélio Fernandino de Moraes, a young 17-year-old boy, who was preparing to enter a military career in the Navy, began or suffered strange "attacks". His family, a well known and traditional family in the city of Neves, in the Rio de Janeiro state, was taken by surprise by the events.
These "attacks" of the young boy were characterized by the postures of an old man, talking nonsense and disconnected things, as if he was another person who had lived in another time. He often assumed a form that resembled that of a quick and resourceful feline that showed he knew many things about nature.
After examining him for several days, the family doctor recommended that it would be better to refer him to a priest, as the doctor (who was the patient's uncle) said that the boy's madness didn't fit in with anything he'd ever known. He believed that the boy was demonized.
Someone in the family suggested that "this was a matter of spiritism" and that it was better to take him to the Spiritist Federation of Niterói, presided at the time by José de Souza. On the 15th of November, young Zélio was invited to participate at a session, taking a seat at the table.
Taken by a force alien to his will, and contrary to the rules that prevented the removal of any of the members of the table, Zélio got up and said:
"Here is a flower missing"
He left the room, going to the garden and returning with a flower, which he placed in the center of the table. This attitude caused a huge uproar among those present. Once the work was reestablished, spirits who called themselves black slaves and Indians manifested themselves in the kardecistas spirits.
The director of the works found the whole thing absurd and admonished them harshly, citing "their spiritual backwardness" and inviting them to leave.
After this incident, again a strange force took the young Zélio and through him spoke:
"Because they repel the presence of these spirits, if they did not even deign to hear their messages. because of your social origins and color?"
A heated dialogue ensued, and those responsible for the session sought to indoctrinate and ward off the unknown spirit, which was developing a secure argument.
A clairvoyant medium asked:
"Why does the brother speak in these terms, intending that the direction accept the manifestation of spirits that, by the degree of culture they had, when incarnated, are clearly backwards? Why do you speak like that, when I see that I am addressing a Jesuit at this moment and his white robe reflects an aura of light? And what is your name, brother ?"
He replied:
"If you want a name, let it be this one: I'm Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, because for me, there won't be any closed paths."
and
"What you see in me are the remains of a previous existence. I was a priest and my name was Gabriel Malagrida. Accused of witchcraft I was sacrificed at the stake of the Inquisition in Lisbon, in 1761 But in my last physical existence, God granted me the privilege of being born as a Brazilian caboclo"
also announced the type of mission he was bringing from Astral:
"If the spirits of blacks and Indians think they are late, I must say that tomorrow ( November 16th) I will be at my machine's house, at 8 pm, to start a cult in which these brothers they will be able to give their messages and, thus, fulfill the mission that the Spiritual Plan has entrusted to them. It will be a religion that will speak to the humble, symbolizing the equality that must exist between all brothers, incarnate and disincarnate”
The seer replied:
"Does the brother judge that someone will attend his cult?"
he asked ironically. And the spirit already identified said:
"Each hill in Niter will act as a spokesperson, announcing the cult that I will start tomorrow"
To finish the caboclo completed:
"God, in his infinite Goodness, established in death the great universal leveler, rich or poor, powerful or humble, all would become equal in death, but you, prejudiced men, not content to make differences among the living, they try to take these same differences even beyond the barrier of death. Why can't these humble space workers visit us, if although they were not socially important people on Earth, they also bring important messages from beyond?"
The following day, at the house of the Moraes family, at number 30 Floriano Peixoto street, as the appointed time approached, 8:00 pm, the members of the Spiritist Federation were already gathered there to prove the veracity of what had been declared the day before; were the closest relatives, friends, neighbors and, outside, a crowd of strangers.
At 8:00 pm, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas appeared. He declared that at that moment a new cult was beginning, in which the spirits of old Africans who had served as slaves and who, disincarnated, found no field of action in the remnants of the black sects, already distorted and directed in its entirety for sorcery works; and the native Indians of our land, could work for the benefit of their incarnate brothers, whatever their color, race, creed and social condition.
The practice of charity, in the sense of fraternal love, would be the main characteristic of this cult, which would be based on the Gospel of Jesus.
Caboclo established the norms in which the cult would be processed. Sessions, as the periods of spiritual work would be called, daily, from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm; the participants would be dressed in white and the service would be free. He also gave the name of the Religious Movement that was starting: UMBANDA – Manifestation of the Spirit for Charity.
The House of Spiritual Works that was now being founded was named Nossa Senhora da Piedade, because just as Mary welcomed her son into her arms, everyone who needed help or comfort would also be welcomed as children.
Having dictated the foundations of the cult, after answering the questions of the priests present in Latin and German, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas went on to the practical part of the work.
The caboclo went to assist a paralyzed man, making him cured. He began to attend to other people who were in this place, practicing their cures.
That same day, he incorporated an old black man named Pai Antonio, the one who, softly speaking, was mistaken for the madness of his device and with words of great wisdom and humility and with apparent shyness, refused to sit with the present at the table saying the following words:
"Nêgo don't sit down, my lord, nigga stay right here. That's a white man thing and nigga should respeitá."
After the insistence of those present, he says:
"Num lacks to worry. Nêgo stays in the stump that is lugá di nego."
So, he continued saying other words representing his humility. A person at the meeting asks if he missed anything he had left on earth and he replies:
"My cashew. I deny that the pito that she left in the stump. send mureque search"
This statement left those present perplexed, who were witnessing the request of the first element of work for this religion. Pai Antonio was also the first entity to request a guide, which is still used today by the members of the Tent and affectionately called "Guia de Pai Antonio".
The following day, a real pilgrimage took place on Floriano Peixoto Street. Sick, blind, etc. they came looking for healing and found it there, in the name of Jesus. Doctors, whose mediumistic manifestation had been considered madness, left the sanatoriums and gave evidence of their exceptional qualities.
From there, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas began to work incessantly for the clarification, diffusion and sedimentation of the Umbanda religion. Além de Pai Antônio, had the help of Caboclo orixá Malé, an entity with great experience in dismantling low magic works.
In 1918, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas received orders from Astral Superior to found seven tents for the propagation of Umbanda. The associations were given the following names:
- Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Guia;
- Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Conceição;
- Tenda Espírita Santa Bárbara;
- Tenda Espírita São Pedro;
- Tenda Espírita Oxalá;
- Tenda Espírita São Jorge;
- Tenda Espírita São Gerônimo
While Zélio was incarnated, more than 10,000 tents were founded from those mentioned.
Although he did not follow the military career for which he was preparing, as his mediumistic mission did not allow it, Zélio Fernandino de Moraes never made religion his profession. He worked to support his family and several times contributed financially to maintain the temples that the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas founded, in addition to the people who stayed at his house for spiritual treatments, which according to what they say looked like a hostel. He had never accepted monetary assistance from anyone on the orders of his chief guide, despite the fact that it was offered to him countless times.
Ministers, industrialists, and military personnel who resorted to the psychic power of Zélio for the healing of sick relatives and seeing them recovered, sought to repay the benefit through gifts, or by writing large checks.
"Do not accept them. Return them!"
always ordered Caboclo.
Regarding the use of the term spiritist and names of catholic saints in the tents founded, the same was caused by the fact that at that time it was not possible to register the name Umbanda, and as for the names of saints, it was a way of establishing a point of reference for Catholics who were looking for Umbanda services. The ritual established by the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas was very simple, with low and harmonious chants, white clothing, and the prohibition of animal sacrifices. He dispensed with the atabaques and the clapping. Helmets, swords, headdresses, colored garments, lace and lace would not be accepted. The guides used are only the ones that determine the entity that manifests. Herbal baths, amacis, concentration in the vibrating environments of nature, along with the doctrinal teaching, based on the Gospel, would constitute the main elements of preparation for the medium.
The ritual has always been simple. Animal sacrifices were never allowed. They did not use atabaques or any other objects and props. Over time, atabaques began to be used by some of the tents founded by Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, but the Nossa Senhora da Piedade tent is not used in its ritual to this day.
After 55 years of activities at the head of the Nossa Senhora da Piedade Tent (1st temple of Umbanda), Zélio handed over the direction of the work to his daughters Zélia and Zilméa, continuing, alongside his wife Isabel, médium of Caboclo Roxo, working at the Cabana de Pai Antônio, in Boca do Mato, district of Cachoeiras de Macacu – RJ, dedicating most of the hours of her day to the care of people with psychological illnesses quicas and all who were looking for him.
In 1971, Lilia Ribeiro, director of TULEF (Tenda de Umbanda Luz, Esperança, Fraternidade – RJ) recorded a message from Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas, which well reflects the humility and high degree of evolution of this entity. of a lot of light.
Hey there:
"Umbanda has progressed and will progress. There must be sincerity, honesty and I always warn my companions of many years: the vile currency will harm Umbanda; it is diuns that will be sold and that will be later, expelled, as Jesus expelled the salesmen from the temple. The danger of the male medium is the female consultant; of the female medium is the male consultant. It is always necessary to be on guard, because the obsessors themselves who seek to attack our houses make something touch the heart of the woman who speaks to the father of the terreiro, as in the heart of the man who speaks to the mother of the terreiro. progress, be strong and cohesive. Umbanda is humility, love and charity – this is our flag. At this moment, my brothers, I am surrounded by several spirits who work in Umbanda in Brazil: Caboclos de Oxossi, de Ogum, de Xang I, however, am from the phalanx of Oxossi, my father, and I didn't come by chance, I brought an order, a mission. _ My brothers: be humble, have love in your heart, love from brother to brother, because your mediumships will be purer, serving the superior spirits that come down among you ; It is necessary that the devices are always clean, the instruments in tune with the virtues that Jesus preached here on Earth, so that we have good communications and protection for those who come in search of help in Umbanda houses. My brothers and sisters: my device is already old, 80 years old, but it started before 18. I can say that I helped him get married, so that he wouldn't be butting heads, so that he would be a useful medium and that, through his mediumship, I could implement our Umbanda. Most of those who work in Umbanda, if they didn't go through this Tent, went through the ones that left this House. I have something to ask you: if Jesus came to planet Earth in the humility of a manger, it was not by chance. So the Father determined. He could have looked for the house of a potentate of the time, but he went to choose the one who would be his mother, this spirit that would come to trace to humanity the steps to obtain peace, health and happiness. May the birth of Jesus, the humility that He lowered to Earth, serve as examples, illuminating your spirits, taking away the darkness of evil by thought or practices; may God forgive the evils that may have been thought, so that peace may reign in your hearts and in your homes. Close your eyes to the neighbor's house; shut your mouth so as not to murmur against anyone; judge not lest ye be judged ; believe in God and peace will enter your home. It 's from the Gospels. I, my brothers, as the smallest spirit that descended to Earth, but friend of all, in a perfect concentration of the companions that surround me at this moment, I ask that they feel the need of each one of you. if, when you leave this temple of charity, you find the paths open, your sick improved and cured, and health forever in your matter. With a vow of peace, health and happiness, with humility, love and charity, I am and will always be the humble Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas"
Zélio Fernandino de Moraes dedicated 66 years of his life to Umbanda, having returned to the spiritual plane on October 3, 1975, with the certainty of mission accomplished.
Her work and the guidelines outlined by Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas continue in action through her daughters Zélia and Zilm is that of Moraes, who have in their hearts a great love for Umbanda, since leafy tree that is always bearing fruit to those who know and deserve to harvest them.
In this property, located at Rua Floriano Peixoto, nº 30, in Neves, Niterói – RJ, the Umbanda religion began, announced on November 16, 1908, by Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas.
Cabana do Pai Antônio - In this Umbanda space, Zélio Fernandino de Moraes was part of the charitable work, through the enlightened and beloved Preto Velho Pai Antônio. It was located in Boca do Mato, District of Cachoeiras de Macacu – RJ.
