Gender performances in umbanda: the pombagira as an Afro–Brazilian interpretation of “woman”?

Abstract

resumo • Este artigo investiga a pombagira, entidade feminina do panteão umbandista que contesta estereótipos de gênero e oferece à comunidade afro-brasileira possibilidades de elaborar a maneira como compreendem o "feminino" e a "mulher". Com base em pesquisa etnográfica desenvolvida em seis terreiros de umbanda do estado de São Paulo, entrevistas com mulheres médiuns e com as suas próprias pombagiras, argumenta-se que quando damos ouvidos ao campo sem nos prendermos a preconcepções de masculino e de feminino, o que se encontra é uma reconfiguração das qualidades associadas ao "ser mulher". Os dados foram analisados mediante atenção aos significantes que se repetiram nas entrevistas e na interação em campo discutidos a partir dos estudos de gênero. • palavras-chave Gênero; umbanda; performance; pombagira; etnopsicanálise abstract The pombagira, a female entity in the umbanda pantheon, contest gender stereotypes and offers to the african-brazilian community opportunities to develop the way they understand the "feminine" and the "woman". Based on an ethnographic study developed at six terreiros in São Paulo State and interviews with female mediums and their own pombagiras, it is argued that, when we hear the field without hanging on to male and female prejudices, what we find is a reconfiguration of the qualities associated with "being a woman". Data were analyzed through attention to the signifiers repeated in the interviews and in the field interaction and interpreted based on contemporary developments in gender studies.

"Arreda (Get Away), Man, Here Comes Woman": Gender and Afro-religiosity in Afro-Brazilian Religious Organizations

“…When we take African-based religious organizations as an object, it is possible to verify that some deities are more demonized than others. For example, the Pomba-Gira, due to having a transgressive character, has been seen by the Christian religion as a diabolical deity (Barros & Bairrão, 2015). Therefore, "knowing the figure of the Pomba-Gira allows us to understand something of the aspirations and frustrations of large portions of the population, which are very far from a code of ethics and morality based on values of the Western Christian tradition" (Prandi, 1996, p. 46).…”

“…Therefore, "knowing the figure of the Pomba-Gira allows us to understand something of the aspirations and frustrations of large portions of the population, which are very far from a code of ethics and morality based on values of the Western Christian tradition" (Prandi, 1996, p. 46). Thus, the Pomba-Giras is a considerable example of a religion that incorporates several human characteristics into the sacred (Barros & Bairrão, 2015), especially when these characteristics are tied to gender issues (Barros & Bairrão, 2015;Birman, 2005;Capone, 2004). Considering the aforementioned context, the starting question of this article is: how do religious organizations, through the songs destined to the Pomba-Gira, challenge gender stereotypes and how do these songs enable the understanding of what it is to be feminine?…”

“…The songs of Candomblé and the Umbanda chants are instruments of identity of the entities" (p. 144). Barros and Bairrão (2015) also point out that "Afro-Brazilian religions have long been a productive scenario for gender investigations precisely because they are capable of subverting socially rooted gender understandings" (p. 140).…”

“…The imagery construction of several deities belonging to the religions of African origin in Brazil "permeates, even today, a hegemony of the sex/gender system where myths, in some way, also suffered from the payments perpetrated by colonization" (Passos, 2021, p. 24). That said, the Pomba-Gira emerges as a transgressive figure (divinity) who inhabits the imaginary of Brazilian society, as a woman dressed in red and who exudes danger (Barros & Bairrão, 2015). When we look at the Pomba-Gira, deities belonging to the Brazilian afro religious pantheon, as entities that have a gender performance, we allow for a break with several categories, such as "body," "sexuality," and "sex," thus causing the resignification of gender, through a figure that breaks with pre-established structures (Souza, 2019).…”

“…The Pomba-Giras are examples of how the Afro-Brazilian religions of the Umbanda segment and some traditions of Candomblé can include in their deities human characteristics from a sacred perspective. The Pomba-Giras are entities that are considered to be feminine and transgressive, also known as female Exu, which are complex, contradictory, and ambivalent, as well as their male partner (Exu) (Barros & Bairrão, 2015). Meyer (1993) and Reis (2020) point out some characteristics of Pomba-Giras: erotic, sorceress, seductive, and wise.…”