Afro-Brazilian Priest Has Following in South Florida

September 26, 2006

Source: The Miami Herald

https://miamiherald.newspapers.com/search/#query=Afro-Brazilian+Priest+Has+Following+in+South+Florida&dr_year=2006-2006

On September 26, 2006 The Miami Herald reported, "Antonio Carlos Encarnacao, spiritual son of a revered Brazilian Candomblé temple, caressed the creamy white cowrie shells on the small table in front of him. 'They can tell you how to stop bad omens, how to resolve a conflict or when to have patience,' he said. 'They tell you what you need to know.' In the shells' upturned faces, Encarnac¸ao -- a babalorixá, or high priest -- finds answers to marital woes, financial dilemmas and health worries. Since his arrival in South Florida late last year, he has gathered a small local following -- including several from outside the Brazilian community -- who come to him for readings, spiritual advice and to participate in the occasional Candomblé ceremonies he organizes in a follower's house. 'People here need someone who can give support to their spirituality,' Encarnac¸ao, 43, said. 'I want to teach them the story of this religion that was so important to slaves and how it lived and survived in Brazil.' Now, Encarnac¸ao's teachings will have an even broader audience through a lecture Thursday at the Brazilian consulate, part of a series on the Afro-Brazilian region of Bahia, organized by the Brazil-USA Cultural Center of Florida. 'He feels his mission is to promote the religion in a serious way,' said follower Augusto Soledade, with whom Encarnacao has been living since he came to Florida. 'That's basically what brought him here to the United States.' Millions of Brazilians declare Candomblé as their religion, though it's unclear how many in the local Brazilian community are adherents to it. According to the 2000 Census, more than 30,000 Brazilians live in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, though members of the community estimate they number more than 150,000. Candomblé, like Cuban Santeria and Haitian Vodou, has its roots in the African religions that slaves adapted to their tumultuous new lives in the Latin American colonies of Spain, France and Portugal. While it was eventually declared an official religion in Brazil, it was banned by the Catholic Church and was the target of centuries of persecution."