linguistic:paraphrasing, structural:summarization
Candomblé is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West and Central Africa, especially those of the Yoruba, Bantu, and [[Gbe languages|Gbe]
There is no central authority in control of Candomblé, which is organized around autonomous terreiros (houses). Candomblé is a religion for the initiated only. Differently from Umbanda, a syncretism of elements derived from Roman Catholicism and African religion, open to anyone, Candomblé can only be practiced by those who were initiated in very specific ways by a house, and it takes years to reach a higher hierarchy inside the terreiro. Candomblé venerates spirits, known varyingly as orixás, inkice which are part of a pantheon presided by a transcendent creator god, [[Olorun|. Each individual is believed to have one orixá who has been connected to their Head since before birth and who informs their personality. A second saint is also a tutelary entity. In order to know which are their saints, both the public and the ones who will be initiated participate in the Ifá divination by cowrie shells played by a pai de santo or mãe de santo.
An initiatory tradition, Candomblé's members usually meet in terreiros run by a mãe de santo (priestess) or pai de santo (priest). A central ritual involves practitioners drumming, singing, and dancing to encourage an orixá to possess one of their members, with whom congregants can then interact. The orixás are given offerings such as fruit and sacrificed animals, while their will is deciphered through divination. Candomblé developed among Afro-Brazilian communities amid the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It arose through the blending of the traditional religions brought to Brazil by enslaved West and Central Africans, the majority of them Yoruba, Fon, and Bantubrought by thePortuguese colonialists who then controlled the area. It primarily coalesced in Bahia, where the population were less miscigenated and preserved their African roots.
Following Brazil's independence from Portugal, the constitution of 1891 enshrined freedom of religion in the country, although Candomblé remained marginalized by the Roman Catholic establishment, which typically associated it with criminality. In the 20th century, growing emigration from Bahia spread Candomblé both throughout Brazil and abroad, while also influencing the development of another religion, Umbanda, in the 1920s, a mix of African religion, Catholicism and Spiritism. The religion is divided into denominations, known as nations, based on which traditional African belief system has been its primary influence. The most prominent nations are the Ketu, Jeje, and Angola. There are nearly 170,000 practitioners in Brazil, although smaller communities exist elsewhere, especially other parts of South America. Both in Brazil and abroad Candomblé has spread beyond its Afro-Brazilian origins and is practiced by individuals of various ethnicities.