Orixás, voduns, and inquices

What it is: Candomblé worships sacred powers that, depending on the nation, are called orixás, voduns, or inquices.

How the religion understands it: These entities are not treated as mere abstract symbols, but as sacred presences linked to forces of nature, mythic histories, moral qualities, destiny, and collective relations.

Basis and context: Myths, chants, consecrations, festivals, and initiations structure the relation with these divinities.

Debates and variations: Each nation organizes names, genealogies, rhythms, and categories in its own way, and the Western translation of 'god' does not always capture the ritual complexity involved.

Supportive

Oral tradition of the itãs of the orixás

candomble,itas,orixas,oral-tradition

The itãs narrate the origins, relationships, and qualities of the orixás in oral transmission.

Reference: Oral tradition of the itãs of the orixás preserved in houses of worship and Afro-Brazilian lineages.
Content: The narratives explain the attributes, paths, alliances, conflicts, and spheres of action of the orixás.
Use in debate: It is a basic source for understanding the divinities, sacred hierarchy, and ritual world.

Pierre Verger, Orixás

candomble,verger,orixas,mythology

A classic work on Yorùbá divinities and their presence in Brazil.

Reference: Pierre Verger, Orixás.
Content: The book gathers myths, attributes, relationships, and forms of worship of different orixás in Africa and Brazil.
Use in debate: It is one of the best-known sources for orixás, sacred hierarchy, and the powers of nature.

Reginaldo Prandi, Mythology of the Orixás

candomble,prandi,orixas,itas

An influential collection of myths and narratives about the orixás.

Reference: Reginaldo Prandi, Mythology of the Orixás.
Content: The work systematizes itãs and narratives that help explain the attributes, paths, and bonds of the orixás.
Use in debate: It is a very useful source for a comparative description of divinities and ritual cosmology.