Animals for the Gods: Magical and Religious Faunal Use and Trade in Brazil

Religious beliefs and practices have long influenced human perceptions and uses of nature. Animals in particular play a prominent role in magico-religious practices and given the historical and cultural depth of these relationships, understanding human-faunal relations is often fundamental to the ca...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human ecology : an interdisciplinary journal 2012-10, Vol.40 (5), p.751-780
Main Authors: Alves, Rômulo R. N, Rosa, Ierecê L, Léo Neto, Nivaldo A, Voeks, Robert
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africans
American Indians
Animal behavior
Animals
Anthropology
Beliefs
Biodiversity conservation
birds
Blacks
Brackish
Brazil
Conservation
Consumers
consumers (people)
Cultural anthropology
Ecological sustainability
economic valuation
Environmental conservation
Environmental Management
fish
Fishing
freshwater
Geography
habitats
humans
Marine
Mollusca
molluscs
Natural resources conservation
rare species
Religion
Religious Beliefs
Religious rituals
reptiles
RESEARCH REPORTS
Rites & ceremonies
Social Sciences
Sociology
threatened species
trade
traditions
Value (Economics)
Wild animals
Wildlife conservation
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Summary:Religious beliefs and practices have long influenced human perceptions and uses of nature. Animals in particular play a prominent role in magico-religious practices and given the historical and cultural depth of these relationships, understanding human-faunal relations is often fundamental to the cause of meaningful wildlife conservation. This study investigates the domestic and wild harvested species used for spiritual and religious purposes by adherents of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé. Introduced by enslaved Africans, this belief system combines animal and plant traditions derived from Africa with many others assimilated from Amerindians. We identified a total of 129 species of animals (or animal derived products) used and/or sold for magico-religious purposes; of these, 34. 8 % (n = 45) are included in some list of threatened species. Most animals reported were mammals (n = 29), followed by mollusks (20), fishes (19), birds (18) and reptiles (16); the majority (78 %) of reported species were wild-caught from terrestrial habitats (62 %), followed by marine and estuarine (24 %), and freshwater (14 %). We identified an extensive commercial network of collectors, middlemen/distributors, shop owners, and consumers. Rarity of a given species was often positively associated with economic value. Considering the ubiquity and underground nature of these practices, future conservation strategists are encouraged to work with Candomblé practitioners.
ISSN:0300-7839
1572-9915
DOI:10.1007/s10745-012-9516-1