Entre Mundos

Serving as cambono to the chief caboclo in an Umbanda terreiro allowed me to see more closely how entities work, how repetition teaches, and how spiritual responsibility looks beyond the problem a person brings.

That night, I thought I was simply leaving one role behind inside the terreiro. Only much later did I realize that some of the most decisive steps in life begin precisely when we still do not feel ready for them.

Little by little, I began to realize that everything asked of someone inside the terreiro became a form of learning. One day, that led me into a different place within the gira: for the first time, helping an entity through an entire night of spiritual consultations.

After a few giras in an Umbanda terreiro, I was still trying to understand where I fit. It was in that context that I was asked to take responsibility for the chromotherapy work.

When I was invited into the mediumistic circle in Umbanda, I thought something inside me would change immediately. That I would understand what was happening — or that, somehow, things would start to make more sense from that moment on.

After spending a long time sitting in the assistência of an Umbanda terreiro, observing the giras and listening to stories that were not mine, the day finally came when someone pointed at me. It was not how I imagined it.

Before taking on any role in a terreiro, there is usually a period of silence and observation. Sitting in the assistência — the area where visitors sit during the gira — among strangers, stories, and quiet expectations, I slowly began to understand what this Brazilian spiritual tradition meant.

This text tells the story of my first encounter with Umbanda, a Brazilian spiritual tradition with African roots. Today I write from Europe, where many people are still discovering Umbanda for the first time. For me, that journey began in a terreiro in Brazil.