Brazil has been through several identity crises throughout its history. The
question “who are we?” has permeated the national intellectual production in various moments. Macunaima, a hero of no character created by Mario de Andrade, is born out of the need for a new definition of what the Brazilian identity meant, which was a much debated theme throughout the 1920s, when a new wave of immigration contributed to a changing state of the nation. Rumors described the superiority of foreign workers. Some historians explained that the Brazilian people had inherited the lack of interest in work from the slaves and the laziness from indigenous people. This scenario contributes to the perception that the “jeitinho” was a national characteristic. The institutionalization and perhaps the most aggressive illustration of this Brazilian value happened in the 1970s, in a TV commercial of a cigarette brand. Nationalism was thought of in different parameters than in the 1920s. There was a Brazilian pride and a megalomania created by the dictatorship. The ad shows World Cup champion Gerson striking his most famous quotation: “You like to take advantage of everything, right?” The interpretation was not pejorative at the time, but it later became a law. “For that time it was an extremely spread jargon. The commercial used an identity element that was part of the popular imagination,” asserts Maria Izilda Matos, historian and researcher of the bohemia. “The Gerson law worked as another element in the definition of national identity and the most explicit symbol of our ethics
or lack of it.”
Table of Contents
1. Jeitinho: the Brazilian way of life
2. Candomblé and religious syncretism in Brazil
3. Candomblé and the Brazilian jeitinho
4. The socialization of the jeitinho through Candomblé
5. The jeitinho’s impact on the individual
6. Consequences of the jeitinho to the Brazilian society
7. Conclusion
Research Objective and Scope
This paper examines the hypothesis that the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé has significantly contributed to the internalization and socialization of the "jeitinho"—a cultural practice of bending rules to navigate difficult situations—within Brazilian society.
- Historical evolution of Candomblé and its religious syncretism.
- Symbolic significance of Candomblé in contemporary Brazilian culture.
- The intersection between religious practices and the "jeitinho" mechanism.
- Individual and societal impacts of the "jeitinho" on the rule of law.
Excerpt from the Book
Candomblé and religious syncretism in Brazil
“As Candomblé affirms and expands itself as a socially legitimized institution of magical practices, it takes part in a public movement of multiple aspects by which each group of individuals or even each person individually is able to construct particular sources of transcendence and explanation that make them able to act on the world in a way full of meaning.”5
Candomblé, also called as the cult of the orixás, is an Afro-Brazilian religion of totemic origins. It is mainly practiced in Brazil, but also in Uruguay, Argentina, and Venezuela. This religion has the anima, considered to be the soul of nature by the practitioners, as its base. It was developed in Brazil with the knowledge of African priests, who were transported from Africa to Brazil as slaves between 1549 and 1888, and took their creeds, cultures, and idioms with them6.
When in Brazil, the African slaves were forced to become Catholic by their masters. But they couldn’t see their master’s spiritual beings, which were white and European, as sources of spiritual protection, comfort, and guidance. They then decided to camouflage their spiritual guardians as Catholic saints: “The characteristics of the Euro-Brazilians’ saints and their material representations in pictures and statues allowed the Africans to establish parallels between some of the saints and the Orishas – both responsible for particular areas of life and acting as intermediaries between humans and the supreme being for specific concerns.”7
Summary of Chapters
Jeitinho: the Brazilian way of life: This chapter introduces the concept of "jeitinho" as a national characteristic of social navigation and rule-bending in Brazil.
Candomblé and religious syncretism in Brazil: This section details the historical origins of Candomblé and how African slaves used religious syncretism as a survival tactic.
Candomblé and the Brazilian jeitinho: This chapter analyzes how Candomblé’s ethics, lacking a traditional good-versus-evil dichotomy, align with the flexibility of the "jeitinho."
The socialization of the jeitinho through Candomblé: This chapter discusses how the religion is integrated into modern Brazilian cultural and artistic life, reinforcing its values.
The jeitinho’s impact on the individual: This chapter explores the historical tendency toward informality and the preference for personal relationships over legal formalisms.
Consequences of the jeitinho to the Brazilian society: This chapter examines how the institutionalization of rule-bending undermines the rule of law and fosters negative stereotypes.
Conclusion: The final section summarizes the argument that the "jeitinho" is deeply ingrained in Brazilian identity and suggests that societal change requires prioritizing laws over historical informal behaviors.
Keywords
Candomblé, Jeitinho, Brazil, Cultural Identity, Religious Syncretism, Social Navigation, Rule of Law, Orixás, Informalism, Ethics, Socialization, Tradition, African Diaspora, Corruption, Societal Norms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this paper?
The paper explores the correlation between the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé and the development of "jeitinho," a cultural trait characterized by bending rules to overcome obstacles.
What are the primary thematic areas?
Key themes include religious history, the sociology of Brazilian identity, cultural adaptation, legal philosophy, and the impact of informal social practices on national institutions.
What is the central research goal?
The aim is to investigate how Candomblé has contributed to the internalization and socialization of the "jeitinho" within Brazilian culture.
Which research methods are employed?
The work utilizes a qualitative, analytical approach, synthesizing sociological and anthropological literature to examine the connection between historical religious practices and contemporary social behaviors.
What does the main body cover?
The main body covers the history of Candomblé, the role of syncretism, the socialization of cultural values through religion, and the long-term consequences of these values on the Brazilian legal system.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is defined by terms such as Candomblé, Jeitinho, Brazilian identity, religious syncretism, social informalism, and the rule of law.
How does the author define the "jeitinho"?
The author defines it as a "knack" or "clever dodge"—a rapid, improvised, and creative response to bypass formal rules to achieve a desired outcome.
Does the author consider Candomblé a negative influence on society?
The author does not categorize the religion as inherently negative, but argues that certain aspects of its ethics—specifically the lack of rigid good-versus-evil dichotomies—facilitate the flexibility associated with rule-bending.
What is the significance of the "Gerson Law" mentioned in the text?
The "Gerson Law" refers to a 1970s TV commercial that institutionalized the idea of taking advantage of situations, serving as a symbol for the normalization of the "jeitinho" in Brazilian ethics.
- Quote paper
- Rafael Parente (Author), 2007, Candomblé and the Brazilian jeitinho, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/68296
