Umbanda: The Problem Solver

Synopsis: Umbanda is a syncretic religious movement, combining elements from orthodox Catholicism, with submerged African and indigenous Indian spiritual beliefs. In spite of past attempts to suppress it, it flourishes in the heterogeneous culture of contemporary urban Brazil. The film attempts to give an exposition of the eclectic repertoire of the Umbanda movement. Coverage of ritual performances, including interviews with mediums and their clients, emphasises the role the movement plays in the management of personal malaise and affliction experienced as a by-product of change and urbanisation. The concluding sequences of the sea goddess Yemenya - identified with the Virgin Mary - show the annual Umbanda festival where half a million practitioners from all over the country descend on the beaches of Sao Paulo *RAI.
Series: Disappearing World, Series
Language: English
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Film; Video; Film. 16mm. sd. col. 51 min. Videocassette. VHS. col. 51 min.
Technical information: Black-and-white / Sound
Year of production: 1977
Availability: Hire (film - RAI Film & Video Library)
Sale (video - RAI, Granada); 2005 sale: £50.00 (+VAT +p&p) (RAI)
Notes: Broadcast on ITV 11/77.
Reviewed by Jean Comaroff in ‘RAIN’ Vol 26 No 6-7 (1978)
Subjects: Anthropology; Religious studies
Keywords: Brazil; Umbandistas

Name: Royal Anthropological Institute
Contact: Susanne Hammacher (Film Officer)
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Notes: The Institute sells more than 250 anthropology and ethnology titles on video and DVD, including some produced by students and staff of the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology. There is also a large library of internationally produced film and video productions from which items may be borrowed within the UK.

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