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Monday, November 5, 2012

Uruguay,Umbanda and something else.


This is an Updated posting! Thanks to all who read the blog and commented!!!.

November 2, here in Uruguay, is called "Día de Los Difuntos" or "Day of the Dead". It coincides with All saints day in some churches. It seems that here in Uruguay some people go to the graveyards and clean up the graves and decorate them with flowers on this weekend.

But there is another ritual that one can run into that's a little scary.
I only mention this because I tend to write about things that I stumble into or observe here where I live.  This weekend I literally walked into or came across a tradition tied to a ritual of voodoo.

This is not the norm for Uruguayans as shown by some comments.
As an Uruguayan I'm a little offended that we could be seen as a country filled by Umbandist practitions, since this is NOT the norm for our society.
Another commenter wrote:
Of course those things on the beach were not offerings to the dead. These kinds of offerings of food and liquor could be offerings to Lemanjá, the goddes of the Sea of the afroamerican religion of Umbanda. It is a mix of beliefs of the african slaves with the catholic religion. But the presence of chicken can be a signal of black magic rituals...the day of the dead has nothing to do with this offerings, you can see them all the year long in places like parks and beaches and another commenter wrote:
Those beach offerings are part of Umbanda (a religion with african origins)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbanda

It was a beautiful clear day and hot! Kinda of muggy hot where you tend to sweat when exerting yourself. So I broke down and took my dogs to the beach after a self-imposed ban of it because it was a mess from the last wind storm. The beach looked a little better, not much but a little, so we went into the water, dogs and I (legs only). On coming out and walking along the sand I began to smell an odor which of course, dogs love to check out. That's when I saw the cause. An offering of some kind.


2 dead chickens were laid on a Styrofoam plate each, along with 2 bottles of Alcohol (1 whisky, 1 Sangria wine) and a jar of honey.


There is a Umbanda spiritistic religion (of African-mixed origins) practiced here in Uruguay. Also there is a separate cult practice, a following to a "goddess or Virgin of the Sea" called Lemanjá. I've seen a stature set up of that on the beach at Punta del Este. It's a pagan nature religion celebrated on February 2 where little boats are floated out to sea asking for wishes to be granted. However, these two cults don't offer up animal sacrifices as the chickens would indicate. So it's seems that I stumbled into something else entirely.

In the future I won't be reporting on anything like this again. I would never have reported on it now, except for the fact that I ran into this scene. While learning about people's customs and traditions is interesting and I freely share what I learn about them, I can only go so far into certain types of them. I have to remember that I have important lessons learned.  Wherever I go in this world I must remember this warning about Spiritism and magic practicing beliefs and the dangers of them. Please look up in the Bible book of Deuteronomy Chapter 18 and verses 9 thru 13.  *** Start with verse 13, then go back and read verses 9 10,11,12 and 13 again in that 18th chapter. Among the many types of religions here in Uruguay, Christian or otherwise, there are over 11,000 Jehovah's Christian Witnesses also, here in Uruguay. Native Uruguayans born here who like me stay away from Spiritistic practices because we were warned to keep free from them. If you have any questions about why it's a good idea to stay free from this, feel free to ask any of Jehovah's Witnesses for a free home Bible study or even a simple discussion.

I just thought you'd like to know what's happening.

9 comments:

~Em said...

Denise,
Do you have any idea why the offerings were on the beach? Aren't they usually laid next to the grave stones? Do you suppose the TWO chickens and TWO drinks were remembering two separate people who died at sea? Just curious.
~Em

Anonymous said...

Of course those things on the beach were not offerings to the dead. These kinds of offerings of food and liquor could be offerings to Lemanjá, the goddes of the Sea of the afroamerican religion of Umbanda. It is a mix of beliefs of the african slaves with the catholic religion. But the presence of chicken can be a signal of black magic rituals...the day of the dead has nothing to do with this offerings, you can see them all the year long in places like parks and beaches

Anonymous said...

I AGREE WITH ANONIMOUS
THESE THINGS ARE OFFERINGS FROM AFRICAN RELIDIONS AND DEAD HENS ARE USUALLY BLACK MAGIC

Femur said...

Those beach offerings are part of Umbanda (a religion with african origins)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbanda
they have nothing to do with the Day of the Dead

Anonymous said...

Hello Denise, I ask if you kindly if you would update this post with more accurate information.. In this regard I agree with the other Anonymous posters..

As an Uruguayan I'm a little offended that we could be seen as a country filled by Umbandist practitions, since this is NOT the norm for our society.

There's certainly small groups off people that DO practice this and you can on ocassion find this pagan altars here or there.

Also, grave yard cleaning and dining with the dead is more of a Mexican tradition, I've never heard of it from any friends or family in Uruguay, I wouldn't rule that people do this maybe in the more rural areas? . What I do know is that people goes to place flowers and visit in this day.

For most people, its the perfect Holiday just to have a break from work, go out and enjoy the free day.

Femur said...

The beauty of this country is that even if the majority does not share their beliefs, Umbanda practitioners are free to practice what they believe. And it should not be a problematic issue with your blog because you are also very entitled to your opinion and free to respectfully express it here as you did

Anonymous said...

Thanks Denisse for the upadted post!

You say you won't post blogs like this anymore, but really I don't think anyone was offended.

But we do meant to warn you that you missunderstood the meaning of the day, that's all. Since you report to the open world your experiences, in this regard I think many commenters felt we needed to warn you against missinformation.

Umbanda, Lemanja and Day of the Departed are very diferent things

Thanks for updating and clarifiying (sorry for my grammar and funny english)

Anonymous said...

Indeed, I found this very informative and I do hope you will not hesitate to comment on whatever you encounter in your life in Uruguay. With your post and the many comments I have much more insight into things there. We really look forward to discovering with you.

Thank you for your fine blog.

Felipe

Seamus said...

Yes, Denise, don't hesitate to write about what you see. You're reporting it, not selling it.

And it is good to know where stuff like this goes on so it doesn't catch one totally by surprise when traveling abroad.

One of my middle names is Daniel. And if God can deliver a man from the interior of a blazing furnace, I don't think stumbling across a few dead chickens can hurt us.