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Paper short abstract:

The ritual rearrangements that can be observed in the two Afro-Brazilian shrine houses in Paris are the consequence of the particularities of the implantation of these religions in France. They have an impact on how these religious leaders’ practices may be legitimised in Brazil.

Paper long abstract:

Candomblé and umbanda have had an increasing popularity among French practitioners since the last decade. They find new devotees through networks anchored in the New Age movement, psychotherapists and artistic activities. In Paris, there are two well established religious groups which have close ties with their brazilian initiators. These ties are reaffirmed every year, when Brazilian religious leaders go to France in order to develop their French initiates' "mediumship" and when French practitioners travel to Brazil to undergo initiation. Due to particular ritual rearrangements, neither the Brazilian shrine houses, nor the French ones practice what we might call "classical" candomblé or umbanda. In the candomblé shrine house, rituals are simplified and mobilize many elements of umbanda, while the umbanda leader has integrated several elements of candomblé in his practice. These rearrangements show both leaders' desire to offer a large scale of spiritual services and to position themselves as overall specialists of Afro-Brazilian religions. This paper aims to show that this situation is in part the consequence of the particularities of the implantation of Afro-Brazilian religions in Paris and that it has an impact on how these leaders' practices may be legitimized in Brazil.