7. CAPÍTULO 1 DESCRIPCIÓN DEL CONCEPTO DE ÉTICA UTILITARISTA DE
7.4. LA ÉTICA UTILITARISTA DE JOHN STUART MILL
aside in honour of the four elements (earth, air, water and fire), the four cardinal points, and, by extension,
the deities who presided over them. Some redistribution
of days of worship to conform with the European calendar was therefore necessary when the Africans arrived in
Brazil, Days set aside for certain orixas and practices
do not therefore correspond exactly to those currently
observed in Africa, For a further discussion of this
point see Bastide I9 6I : 120— 128, It is probable that
Friday was set aside for Oxala (syncretised with Jesus Christ ) because it was on tliat day that Clirist died.
Considerably more complex rituals are necessary in the case of the acoco seedling which should be covered every day at 6 p,in, with four brand new high quality sheets, (C,5) actually went so far as to mention the brand name of
the sheets which would be ideal for the purpose. The
following morning at sunrise the sheets are lifted by four
virgin girls. This day-to-day ritual continues until
the seedling is about a foot high ,
The vast majority of herbs however, are in constant use and because they are considered to be more efficacious when employed freshly picked, are collected throughout
the year. Such herbs only come under the influence of
the sun and/or moon and this accounts for the detailed instructions that must be adhered to when picking thorn. The moon must be in a specific phase, or the sun at a
particular angle in the sky. Observation of the position
of the sun has now been superseded to a great extent by the hours of the day, hence instead of it being specified that a herb be picked before sunrise it is specified that it
should be picked at around 4,30 a,m. The actual time when
it may be picked is reduced to fairly narrow margins, as in the case of betis cheiroso which may be picked only between
3 a,m, and 4 a,m. Further complications arise when a herb
may only be picked when both the sun and the moon are in jux taposition to each other, the position of the moon usually
being judged by the state of the tides. Hence salsa da praia
can only be picked between 4 a,m, and 5 a,m, and when the tide
33 lu certain rural areas of Britain the custom still
is coming in - a situation tliat occurs only rarely during
the month. This practice is not restricted to African
ritual and was common throughout mediaeval Europe,
Other herbs may only be picked on specific days of
the week when the sun is in a specific position. This
day is usually the one dedicated to the worship of the orixéi to whom the herb happens to belong - hence cane la de volho can only bo picked on a Monday because that is the day dedicated to Omolu who controls the plant.
Sometimes however, the situation is complicated by the herb in question being ascribed divergent qualities at different times of the day so that it can belong to more than one orix^ depending on what time of the day it
happens to be. This metamorphosis in character sometimes
takes place during remarkably short periods of time, as, for example, in the case of coerana, which belongs either to Ogun, Yansan or Omolu between 4 a,m, and 9 a,m,, and to
Exu between 9 a,m, and midnight, 6 o'clock in the m o r n i n g '
and evening, and midday and midnight are times when no herb or leaf may be picked for good purposes (with the exception of gameleira) since these are the times when it is considered that evil forces are at their most powerful and herbs lose all
34
their beneficial virtues , The allegiance of some plants
34 Taboada (1947:123) quotes the following verse illustrating
the way twelve o'clock is associated with d.ll fortune:
Entre las doce y la una Between twelve and one
anda la mala fortuna; walks ill fortune;
entre la una y las dos between one and two
anda la Madre de Dios, walks the Mother of God,
Midnight has always been considered to be a rather
dangerous time, H, B. the English expression ' witching
hour'. See also Binon Cossard (1970:219) whc mentions
that it is dangerous for the initiate to leave the cult
house at midniglit, 6 a.m. and midday. These times are
known popularly in Brazil as as horas abertas (open hours i,e, to evil influence).
is momentarily clianged at t tie se times, as in the case of the gameleira which belongs normally to Exu but every six hours comes under the control particularly of Omolu because those are tlie times wiion, according to
one informant (C,2) 'os espiritos mans descansam no pe
da gameleira' (the evil spirits rest in the gameleira). Trees such as this are greatly feared mainly because of
the link with Exu ( 'nao gosto de trabalhar com ela' — 'I
don't like working with it' [l,2]) , but if the leaves are picked at times when they belong to Omolu they are considered an
extremely powerful means of curing and are mixed with other herbs for fumigation and ritual baths.
It is clear, then, that as the positions of the sun or moon change, so does the orixa to whom the herb tielongs at different times of the day, and consequently the herb's
sphere of influence is altered, Mention has already been made
of how each orixa controls certain parts of the body and so the change in virtue of the herb corresponds to the different
areas of control of each orixa. This is very much akin
to the European idea of linking each herb to a planet and ascribing to it different virtues in accordance with tlie planet's position in relation to other planets in tlie
35 Universe" .
Similarly in Brazil it is believed that the position of
35 Dawson 1935 05-3u; McKenzie 1927:152. The concept of
linking a herb to a planet was developed principally by Paracelsus in the sixteenth century and expanded in Europe by herbalists such as Nicholas Culpeper wlio based their theories on ancient Babylonian and Eg^q^tian astrology,
Culpeper(16 5 3 1st ed, 1850:V)gives precise instructions
in the epistle to his The Com ilete herbal as to how diseases may be cured by herbs:
'Ihe Uerbs, riants A c . are now in the book appropriated
to their proper planets. Therefore,
First, Consider what planet causeth the disease; that thou mayest find it in my aforesaid Judgment of Diseases,
Secondly, Consider what part of the body is afflicted by the disease, and whether it lies in the flesh, or
blood, or bones, or ventricles.
Thirdly, Consider by what planet the afflicted part of the body is governed: that ray Judgment of Diseases will inform you also.
Fourthly, You may oppose diseases by Herbs of the planet, opposite to the planet that causes them: as
diseases of Jupiter by herbs of Mercury, and the contrary; diseases of the Luminaries by the herbs of Saturn,
and the contrary; diseases of liars by herbs of Venus, and the centrary,
Fifthly, There is a way to cure diseases sometimes by Sympathy, and so every planet cures his own disease; as the Sun and Moon by their Herbs cure the Eyes, Saturn
the SiDleen, Jupiter the Liver, Mars the Gall and diseases
of choler, and Venus diseases in the instruments of Generation,'
It is likely that the close resemblance between Yoruba and mediaeval European herbal practice stems mainly from
a common Babylonian and Egyptian source. Ideas from this
source wore widely diffused throughout the ancient world, Certainly African religions in Brazil display numerous traits characteristic of ancient Egypt and subsequently,
Islam, In Egypt, for example, the connection between
herbs and the gods was very close (see Wallis Budge
1928:24), For the principal contributions of ancient
Egypt to mediaeval and Renaissance European herbal tlieory
the moon and the sun can have a marked effect on the sap of growing plants and that specific conjunctions of heavenly bodies produce situations wherby man becomes especially
prone to specific diseases^^. It would appear therefore
that as resistance to a disease diminishes, so certain herbs used to cure that disease are believed to increase
in power. They are believed to become weaker in respect
of one orix^ and more powerful in respect of another as the
day progresses (C,5, C.IO, 0,12),
It is a fact that in certain cases herbs belonging to one orixd are used to cure disorders in that part of
the body over which the orixa has control. This is
particularly the case concerning skin disorders and diseases that cause scabs to appear on the skin (smallpox, leprosy etc,)
and which come under the dominion of Omolu, Matters
become more complex, however, when the cure for a particular disease requires the application of two or more herbs,
but this must be based on empirical experience when it has been observed that symptoms of a specific nature coupled with other symptoms imply that the indisposition concerned comes within the area of control of two or more orixas,
hence the application of further herbs. In the majority
of cases, however, the orix^ of the patient concerned will
require that a sufficient quantity of the herbs under his control be included in any group because otherwise he
will become displeased and hinder the process of the cure.
3b Cf, Culpeper I6 5 3 1st ed. 1850:201; Black 1883:125-126,
A man with a disorder that comes under the dominion of an orixd totally alien to his personality should be treated for that disorder with a preponderance of herbs belonging to his own orixdi and a certain number devoted to the orixa who has control over the disorder in question. Hence in one case of leprosy encountered, the patient,
who belonged to Yemanj^, had seven consecutive baths on
seven consecutive days, each bath consisting of three herbs belonging to Omolu (god of skin diseases) and four or six belonging to Yemanjd and others (C,2),
The use of herbs in specific rituals, namely ritual baths (banhos), fumigation, the preparation of amulets etc, will be discussed in detail in subsequent chapters.
CHAPTER IV
SACUDIDA
A.
Points of similarity in African, European and indigenous practices
As we have already seen (6 3) there is a common
tendency in folk medicine to deal with forces of evil by physical means, and so in tne case of illness or mental disturbance it is believed that the evil spirit must either be frightened away by a sound beating as if it were a
tangible entity or else attracted into the instrument used in beating which can then be broken and disposed of,
carrying the evil with it, McKenzie (1927:84) testifies
to this practice among the Yuruna Indians of Brazil:
Among the Yuruna Indians of Brazil the doctor
violently rubs his sick people with a green
twig all over the body. Having in this way
caught the disease in the twig, he then carries it carefully outside, groaning heavily all the time and throws it away.
Akin to this practice but more closely related to the idea of frightening away the spirit than that of attracting it and then destroying it, is that alluded to by Freyre amongst other tribes, of individuals flogging one another when sick^,
The African religions in Brazil contain a number of rituals tliat include flogging and this is particularly apparent in the Yoruba e.yun cult festivals on the island
of Itaparica where the egym (spirit of the dead) is kept
1 Fre y r e 1 946 :1 5 0 — 1 51, who even goes on to suggest tliat