We had an awesome lunch of spaghetti with meat sauce, rice and beans and Sprite. I was feeling quite environmentally PC, because everything we used was glass, aluminum or cloth (barring the Sprite bottle), so everything that was packed in, packed out. It was an awesome day, hot but the shade of the palms and a slight cool breeze made the weather very comfortable. Gracie ran around, picking up sticks and leaves, pretending they were one thing or another. Maddie watched with glee and stumbled around after her older sis. Time came to pack up and head out, we chose to go out a different path. Gracie galloped ahead, her dress bouncing and her hair shining in the sun was a joyous image to behold.
We came to a clearing that transected another path. As we entered, I noted that it smelled like pee, but then my eye caught something dark in the grass. Maybe not pee, but rotting flesh? We moved in closer to see what was dead; for it was obvious it was dead by the flies. We came upon a sacrificial site. Two black chickens had been cut open and displayed quite neatly. One was placed on a clay bowl and the other on the grass next to it. The bowl looked as though it had corn meal, a piece of paper with something written on it and black & red candle wax, with the chicken displayed on top of it all. There were black and red candles burned down, positioned around the birds, some tobacco and a lid to Aguardant (a kind of Portuguese brandy) bottle. It smelled, but since it was a fresh sacrifice, it was tolerable. We filmed the scene extensively but were careful not to disturb the display. I figured that an Umbanda ritual had taken place the night before and one was best to not mess with any sorcery, good or bad.
Umbanda is a magic-type practice, some say a religion, that derives in large part from an African ancestry. People say you can use this magic for good or evil. As we were filming, a guy walked by so we took the opportunity to interview him. He said he had seen this type of thing before in the Horto. He called the site, despacho, which means to dispatch spirits after someone. He said the piece of paper probably had the name of the person who was the target of the despacho. He went on to explain, "when I see this kind of thing I go by saying the name of Jesus and sometimes I even kick them". Matt asked, "Do you feel implicated in the sorcery if you interfere with it? He responded, "If I don't say anything, then I feel something bad will happen to me. So maybe kicking it away is a good idea." He parted, and I noticed that the guy didn't kick this ritual site away. Which left me wondering why?
Gracie wanted to say goodbye to the birds, so we wished them farewell and went on our way. Matthew and I were like two kids, so excited to come across a scene of sorcery, something we’ve only read about in books. We’ve decided to look into this while we are still here, maybe talk with a sorceress, and maybe make a mini-documentary.
the scene, the tobacco is in the form of a cigar
the burned down candle
I'm pointing to the bird to give size perspective
This is a closeup of the bowl, paper, cornmeal, candle wax
