Afro-Brazilian · branch
Umbanda
A Brazilian synthesis of Yoruba orixás, Kardecist reincarnation and Catholic saints, in which spirits work through mediums to do practical good. Charity is the point, syncretism is the method, and no existing quiz can return it.
What makes it unusual
The axes on which this tradition sits furthest from the middle of the matrix — which is to say, the positions that actually distinguish it.
- A3 Pluralitymany powers and spiritsFurther toward "many powers and spirits" than most traditions in the matrix.
- C2 Shape of timecyclical returnFurther toward "cyclical return" than most traditions in the matrix.
- E1 Exclusivitymany valid pathsFurther toward "many valid paths" than most traditions in the matrix.
- D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribedFurther toward "essential and prescribed" than most traditions in the matrix.
All seventeen positions
Each cell carries a centre, a dispersion — how much internal variation the tradition genuinely tolerates — and the source the position rests on. Disagree with one? Say so; corrections are public and recorded.
The same seventeen values as a single shape, read clockwise from A1 at the top. The outline is where the tradition sits; the wider band around it is the variation it genuinely tolerates, so a tight outline is a tight tradition.
- position
- tolerated variation
A · The divine
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Divine realitynothing beyond the natural → a divine reality certainly exists | a divine reality certainly existsUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 1.00 | 0.03 |
| A2 Personhoodimpersonal principle or order → a personal being one can address | leaning a personal being one can addressUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.78 | 0.13 |
| A3 Pluralitystrictly one → many powers and spirits | many powers and spiritsUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.92 | 0.06 |
| A4 Locuswholly beyond the world → fully present within it | fully present within itUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.92 | 0.06 |
B · Knowledge and authority
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 Source of truthrevealed and fixed → reason and direct experience | leaning reason and direct experienceUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.82 | 0.10 |
| B2 Reading of sacred textliteral and binding → metaphorical, or no text at all | metaphorical, or no text at allUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.85 | 0.10 |
| B3 Institutional authorityclergy and tradition decide → individual conscience decides | leaning clergy and tradition decideUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.28 | 0.16 |
C · Self and destiny
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 Survival of the selfends at death → continues in some form | continues in some formUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.98 | 0.02 |
| C2 Shape of timeone life, then judgment → cyclical return | cyclical returnUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.88 | 0.08 |
| C3 The human conditionfallen and in need of rescue → ignorant but fundamentally sound | leaning ignorant but fundamentally soundUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.70 | 0.14 |
D · Practice
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| D1 Mechanism of the ultimate goodgiven as grace → achieved by effort or insight | between given as grace and achieved by effort or insightUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.62 | 0.16 |
| D2 Centrality of ritualessential and prescribed → optional or absent | essential and prescribedUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| D3 The bodyto be disciplined → to be celebrated | between to be disciplined and to be celebratedUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.62 | 0.15 |
E · World and others
| Axis | Position | Value | ±σ |
|---|---|---|---|
| E1 Exclusivityone true path → many valid paths | many valid pathsUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.90 | 0.06 |
| E2 Origin of the cosmosan intentional act → beginningless or natural | leaning an intentional actUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.25 | 0.18 |
| E3 Locus of belonginga people, inherited → an individual choice | between a people, inherited and an individual choiceUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.62 | 0.16 |
| E4 Standing of naturecreation, given for use → animate and itself sacred | animate and itself sacredUmbanda terreiro practice and Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro | 0.85 | 0.08 |
Further reading
- Ortiz, A Morte Branca do Feiticeiro Negro — The formation of Umbanda as a distinctly Brazilian synthesis.
- Brown, Umbanda: Religion and Politics in Urban Brazil — Terreiro practice; the source for the D- and E-group values.
Compared with
The questionnaire places your own answers on these same seventeen axes and reports how close you are to this tradition and to 64 others. Take it — eight to fourteen questions, nothing transmitted.