Black Sorcerers in Portugal During the Modern Age

This lecture will introduce a few considerations on magical and religious practices shared by the population of African origins in Portugal from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Africans and their descendants, whether slaves or freemen, carried with them a variety of rituals and customs, which were considered heretical by the Catholic Church, and therefore harshly condemned by the Tribunal of the Portuguese Inquisition as witchcraft. Amid the many practices found, there were curative proceedings, individual and group worshipping of idols, the use of protective charms, and other habits, a great deal of them mixing together elements of African culture with those of Western European Christianity and culture. This blend constituted an important mechanism for the reconstruction abroad of new social and cultural identities among African migrants. I will highlight in my presentation some of the ways slaves tried to minimize their unfortunate social and economic condition, as well as the harshness of the slave relations they were submitted to, by making use of these many magical practices. Daniela Calainho, a visiting scholar at Stanford late March-late April 2010, has a Doctorate from Universidade Federal Fluminense (2000) and is Professor of History at the Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, since 1993. She works on the colonial history of Brazil, and has specialized on the following themes: inquisition within the Portuguese Empire, slavery, and popular religions in Portugal and in Brazil. She has published many articles on these subjects, as well as two books: Agentes da Fé: Familiares da Inquisição portuguesa no Brasil Colonial (2006) and Metrópole das Mandingas, religiosidade negra e Inquisição portuguesa no Antigo Regime (2008). You are invited to bring your own "brown bag" lunch. In keeping with the Bolivar House cafecito tradition, hot coffee is provided beginning at 11:45 am. Lecture/q&a runs from 12:15-1:05 pm.