Page 64 - Aesthetic Formations Media, religion, and the Sense

“Don’t Ask Questions, Just Observe!” 49

some dancers. Juanita [Elbein dos Santos, an Argentinian anthropologist
who wrote a classic monography on Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá, and married the son
of Mãe Stella’s predecessor, MvdP] caused a scandal when her documentary
film on the secret cult of the Eguns was broadcasted on national TV. But
when we were invited to stage some of the dances for an international con-
gress on African Religion, with priests and priestesses from all over the coun-
try, as well as representatives from African countries, the people from Ilê Axé
Opô Afonjá—including Juanita—made a point of ostentatiously leaving the
room. The Africans, on the other hand, were very enthusiastic!
He continued by saying that the national ballets of Cuba and Haiti also
put on a section of the dances of the orixás in their programs, and that
Casa Branca and Gantois (the other “historic” and prestigious terreiros,
and the eternal competitors of Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá) spoke very positive of
the Balé, and never created any problems.

And just look how Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá is accessing the media all the time,
seeking publicity, organizing events. If they are so concerned about keeping
Candomblé a religion: it is not like they restrict themselves to their religious
tasks!

Mãe Stella and her soul mates, however, do not seem to be impressed with
such arguments. A priest subscribing to the ideology of Ilê Axé Opô Afonjá
asked me: “When do we see people dressed up as nuns, monks, and bish-
ops in a carnival parade? When do we get to see the consecration of the
Holy Eucharist in Teatro Miguel de Santana? Huh?”
Undoubtedly, painful histories play up in the condemnation of the Balé.
Up until 1976, terreiros intending to have a religious ceremony had to reg-
ister with the city police at a department called jogos e costumes: the very
desk where brothels, nightclubs, and gambling houses had to register as
well. And yet, there must be more to it. For if films, books, anthropological
dissertations, and photographs manage to pass the instruction “don’t ask
questions, just observe” relatively easy, why then the venomous critiques of
the Balé Folclórico da Bahia? What might be at stake became clear to me
when Zebrinha took me up to the studio to observe a rehearsal of the dance

group. The boys and girls had been stretching and flexing their muscles for
over an hour in utmost concentration and dedication. Then the drums were
beaten, the sacred songs were sung, and the pupils started to dance. The
spectacle was nowhere close to the somewhat obligatory-fatigued dancing
of initiates one often sees in the terreiros. The movements were exaggerated,
stylized, and highly energetic. There was no adherence to any liturgical
sequence. The dancer’s beautiful and sweating bodies were only dressed in
tights and shorts instead of the baroque costumes of filhos-de-santo who