Histories and fetishes of Afro-Brazilian religions: an essay in anthropological symmetrization

Abstract

Starting out from discussion of the current state of Afro-Brazilian studies, this article addresses the recently revived debate over formerly widely disseminated ideas concerning “the fetish” and “fetishism”. It first examines how that debate has been conducted in studies of Afro-Brazilian religions, using bibliographical and field-work data on one of those religions — candomblé — to describe the native theory of the creation process which underlies that which outsiders have labelled “fetish” and “fetishism”. Briefly, the theory holds that process of creation actualizes existing virtualities rather than producing, out of nothing, our Judaeo-Christian and capitalist cosmology.