Abstract
Afro-Brazilian religion in its traditional forms (candomblé and xangô) is typically a religion of the body and of the gesture. The first act of its ritual is animal sacrifice, which feeds both the gods and the faithful. It is a religion in which thought is expressed through the motions of dance and trance, far removed from the cerebral religions typical of the western world during the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation and the rise of capitalism with its austerity and privation. Anchored firmly in the tangible world, candomblé-xangô recognizes no separation between body and soul, nor between health and holiness. Its fundamental hedonism finds a natural place in a postmodern society which is once more valuing the body, gesture, emotion and passion.