VU Research Portal Religious butinage as the flight of the hummingbird Greganich, J. 2017 document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in VU Research Portal citation for published version (APA) Greganich, J. (2017). Religious butinage as the flight of the hummingbird: rethinking syncretysm from Brazil. General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. E-mail address: [email protected] Download date: 01. Oct. 2021 VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT RELIGIOUS BUTINAGE AS THE FLIGHT OF THE HUMMINGBIRD: RETHINKING SYNCRETYSM FROM BRAZIL ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad Doctor aan de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, op gezag van de rector magnificus prof.dr. V. Subramaniam, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van de promotiecommissie van de Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen op woensdag 29 november 2017 om 13.45 uur in de forumzaal van de universiteit, De Boelelaan 1105 door Jessica Greganich geboren te Porto Alegre, Brazilië promotoren: prof.dr. J.T. Sunier prof.dr. A.P. Oro copromotor: dr. M.E.M. de Theije ABSTRACT This thesis develops the concept of religious butinage in order to understand what form of religious mobility and pluralization occur in Brazil, especially in the mediumistic field, since so far the explanations for syncretism do not satisfactorily explain as it occurs. By examining how religious practitioners practice throughout history and culture I identify some kind of experience that escapes the established structure, tradition and culture. It clarifies the syncretic processes. Data have been collected from participant observation, interviews, newspapers, and biographies. I build up the concept of religious butinage by a metaphor based on “ayahuasca religions”. The religious practitioner, compared with a hummingbird, makes butinage from a religious denomination to another religious denomination producing syncretism. This doctoral thesis is in some way a continuation of my master's thesis entitled: “Between the rose and the hummingbird: An anthropological study of trajectories in the União do Vegetal (UDV) and the Santo Daime”. Key-words: religious butinage, syncretism, religious pluralism. SAMENVATTING Dit proefschrift ontwikkelt het concept betreffende religieuze butinage, met als doelstelling welke vorm van religieuze mobiliteit en meervoudig optreden voorkomend in Brazilië te begrijpen, vooral op het mediamieke vlak, dit omdat de verklaringen betreffende syncretisme zoals het zich voordoet tot op heden niet bevredigend zijn. Door te onderzoeken hoe religieuze beoefenaars door de geschiedenis en cultuur heen dit in praktijk brengen, identificeer ik een soort van ervaring welke de gevestigde structuur, traditie en cultuur ontsnapt. Dit onderzoek verduidelijkt de syncretische processen. De gegevens zijn verzameld uit participerende observatie,interviews, kranten en biografiën. Ik bouw het concept van de religieuze butinage op door middel van een metafoor vanuit de “ayahuasca religies”. De religieuze beoefenaar, in vergelijking met een kolibrie, maakt butinage van een religieuze denominatie naar een andere religieuze denominatie, syncretisme producerend. Dit proefschrift is in zekere zin een voortzetting op mijn Masterscriptie getiteld: “Between the rose and the hummingbird; an antropological study of trajectories in the União do Vegetal (UDV) and the Santo Daime”. Trefwoorden: religieuze butinage, syncretisme, religieus pluralisme. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This doctoral thesis is the result of the double doctoral degree agreement between Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). The agreement concerns the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology of the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Department of Pós-graduação em Antropologia Social of Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas. The agreement is supported by the CAPES/Nuffic project on Transnational Religion (2010-2013), coordinated by dr. Marjo de Theije (VU Amsterdam) and dr. Ari Pedro Oro (UFRGS) as part of the Paulo Freire Program. I am grateful for the CNPq and CAPES support for this. My PhD in Brazil was funded by the Brazilian CNPq- Modalidade Doutorado GD scholarship. The period of one year as a visiting researcher at VU Amsterdam was funded by the Brazilian CAPES- Doutorado Sanduíche scholarship1. I am also grateful to my father, Paulo Greganich, who assisted me financially during the period I did not have the support of a scholarship abroad. I developed a joint doctoral thesis (co-tutela) involving the two partners in the project “Religious Transnationalism” in the scope of CAPES/Nuffic cooperation under supervision of dr. Ari Pedro Oro (UFRGS) and dr. Thijl Sunier (VU Amsterdam) and co-supervision of dr. Marjo de Theije (VU Amsterdam) I would like to acknowledge my supervisor prof. dr. Ari Pedro Oro, who believed in my research project and who motivated me and encouraged me to do a joint PhD. He, together with prof. dr. Carlos Alberto Steil, helped to make it possible to extend my period as visiting researcher at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology until the period of finishing my PhD in March 2015. I am very thankful to them and for this experience and opportunity. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor dr. Thijl Sunier and to my co-supervisor dr. Marjo de Theije for their insightful comments and for their patience and support in overcoming the obstacles I have being facing through my joint PhD. I defended my thesis in Brazil in accordance with the Brazilian regulations in March 4, 2016. Besides my supervisors dr. Ari Pedro Oro and dr. Thijl Sunier, I would like to thank the rest of my thesis committee in Brazil: prof. dr. Emerson Giumbelli and prof. dr. Daniel de Bem for their brilliant comments and questions and specially for dr. Mauro Meirelles, who besides his enlightenment comments, incited me to various perspectives. I am also thankful to him for coming to my house in order to discuss some points of interest of my thesis. 1 In Brazil, I was part of the CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Brasília-DF 70040-020, Brazil (grant number: BEX: 9525/12-2). I would like to express my special appreciation and thanks to the Professor emeritus of Cultural Anthropology at the VU, dr. André Droogers, for enlightening me with the first glance of my concept. Thank you for reading my first draft paper and welcoming me into your house to comment, advice and motivate me. My sincere thanks also goes out to dr. Linda van de Kamp and dr. Peter Versteeg for being interested in my subject, reading and commenting the chapters of my thesis. I would like to extend my acknowledgments to all those in the Department of Pós- graduação em Antropologia Social (UFRGS) and Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology (VU Amsterdam) who contributed, academically or administratively to my double doctoral particularly the secretaries Rosemeri Feijó (UFRGS) and Annet Bakker (VU Amsterdam). I am very grateful to the religious groups and the religious practitioners which I have researched for the trust in me and believing in the importance of my research and for sending a lot of positive energy and prayers to me. Thanks to Marisa and Mariá. Thanks to the Umbanda Center, Jandaia Mirim, and its mediums: your prayer for me was what sustained me thus far. I am grateful to my friend, Natalia Blanchet, who helped me with the translation of some parts of my work. I am also so grateful to my husband, Bart Leijten, for the orthographic revision and artwork and Zoë Goldstein for the editing. A special thanks goes out to my colleagues and friends for their advises, support, empathy and care making my life easier in Netherlands : Luiz Guilherme Braga, Jamile Nascimento, Fabio Lima, Jardel Fischer Loeck and his wife Roberta Amorim, Tiago Costa, Adriana Fekkes, Luciano Jahnecka, Margarete Fagundes and Amada Paz. And also my friends Denise de Medeiros and Silvana Garcia Marzulo for praying for me. Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank my beloved family: my parents, Paulo Greganich and Juraci Silva, and my sister, Betânia Greganich, my brother in law, Leandro Pereira, my husband Bart Leijten for caring and supporting me spiritually and emotionally throughout the PhD and in my life in general. Specially my father, always my support, and my stepmother, Maria Thereza Gallotti, who together with my father was always there for me helping me in anyway. And my daughter, Evangeline Leijten, who has made me stronger to strive towards my goal. I dedicate this book to the angels of my life: my father and my daughter. For Evangeline and Paulo CONTENTS INTRODUCTION: THE BRAZILIAN RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE .......................................................................... 9 Historical