Fanti Ashanti House, in the city of São Luís, Maranhão’s capital city, is an important place for afro-diasporic religions in the country. It’s there that candomblé and tambor de mina ceremonies take place. Recently, it was attacked by fundamentalist evangelical groups.
Members of the House have denounced attacks from fundamentalist individuals that curse them and make “exorcism gestures” towards the mães, pais, and filhos de santo, the Portuguese terms for female and male Candomblé leaders and its followers, respectively.
"We have been seeking to build a framework of public policies that can help prevent these facts from happening and also strengthen the institutions that have the attribution and responsibility of ascertaining these realities when people file complaints of religious intolerance cases", says Amanda Costa, the Secretary of Human Rights of the Maranhão State.
Also on What's Happening in Brazil: listen to the musician Herbert Almeida. For twenty years, he has been very active on the Belo Horizonte local art scene, mainly as a songwriter, player, and arranger. His first solo album was released at the beginning of 2020. And learn how to cook two very Brazilian recipes: vinagrette and farofa.
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Edited by: Arturo Hartmann