ABSTRACT
Obligations in the Candomblé refer to rites that are performed after initiation to strengthen ties between an adept and her orixá; these rites form a sequence that describes a trajectory of growth and maturation. In a broader sense, the concept of obligation points to a mode of building and maintaining ties that has important temporal, ethical and political dimensions which I explore throughout the paper. The many different obligations that are made and sometimes broken in the candomblé reveal a pluralistic universe, close to William James’ definition of the term, albeit a very particular kind of pluralism whose features I seek to describe.
KEY WORDS:
Obligations; Ethics; Pluralism; Candomblé