Beginning with the known opposition between that which derives from the "gift" and that which derives from "initiation" in African-oriented religions in Brazil, this work aims to ethnographically demonstrate that said dualism actually conceals a triadism. The unfolding of ethnographic analysis in the article will, however, lead us to replace this triadism with a model that is simultaneously unified and multiple. In this, "participation" (in its multiple meanings) should have a place next to the "gift" and "initiation" and the three categories should be construed as updates of a single under-lying principle.
African-Brazilian Religions; Gift; Initiation; Ritual; Cosmology; Roy Wagner