Abstract:
This article seeks to investigate the development of the Afro-Brazilian religious field in the state of Sergipe. Its central argument is that, associated with the practices of “sorcery” and “witchcraft,” the followers of Afro-Brazilian religions were sometimes reviled by the press, persecuted by the forces of repression and treated as “fetishists” by the courts. In this article, I argue that the trial of Evaristo José dos Santos, who was accused of killing Teodomiro “Doe” in 1939 over matters related to “voodoo”, reflected that mire of intransigence and suspicion. Going beyond technical standards, his trial took on a dogmatic aspect, so to speak, as it became a sounding board for the stigmas and stereotypes attached to the religions of the black diaspora.
Keywords:
Sergipe; religious field; black population; Candomblé