From Senegal to Brazil: Religious Syncretisms Across the Atlantic Ocean

Paper Abstract: The Atlantic Ocean represents, today as in the past, the communication route between West Africa and Brazil. In this multidisciplinary study, the connection between the Senegalese festival of the Assumption and the Brazilian ritual of Boa Morte, which are celebrated on August 15, will be analyzed. In a comparative ethnographic study, the connection between Brazil and Senegal will be analyzed: from the ritual of Boa Morte, linked to Candomblé, through the carnival of Dakar and Salvador de Bahia. The study analyzes qualitative data, thanks to ethnographic research in Brazil and Senegal, and quantitative data, obtained through interviews. The comparison between the two rituals will show the similarities between the two countries and the two religious and cultural traditions. A historical connection that shows the cultural Pangea that has crossed the Atlantic Ocean since the 16th century.