The baptism in Umbanda is the rite that introduces the person to the orixás and to the house's lineage. It welcomes children and adults, whether they are a medium or not. It is not an initiation (feitura de santo), does not involve shaving the head, and does not turn anyone into a medium.
Those arriving looking for this topic almost always encounter the same three doubts. The right age to be baptized. What the godfather and godmother are assuming. And what to do when the person has already been baptized in the church.
This guide answers all three. It also shows what happens on the day, what to bring, and why almost none of this is a fixed rule of the religion.
Baptism, cruzamento, and amaci are not the same thing
Here lies the most common confusion. The word baptism names two distinct rites within Umbanda, and the internet usually mixes the two.
- Baptism of presentation: open to anyone, child or adult, medium or not. It presents the baptized person to the orixás and to the house's chain. It is the rite of this article.
- Baptism of medium, or cruzamento: only for those entering the mediumistic chain. The leader marks the points of the body with pemba, and the rite is usually accompanied by the washing of the crown.
- Amaci: the washing of the head with macerated herbs, which settles the medium in the head orixá. It has its own foundation and is explained in what is amaci.
Various houses organize these rites in a list of sacraments that also includes marriage, confirmation, and the coronation of the medium. The order and names change according to the tradition of the house.
If you were invited to a rite and do not know which of the two it is, ask the leader before buying anything. The material for the baptism of presentation is simpler than that of the cruzamento.
How is the baptism ceremony in Umbanda
The baptism takes place inside a gira, with the house open and the spirituality present. It is conducted by the pai or mãe de santo, with the support of the guias of the terreiro.
The most recurring sequence is this, always with variations from house to house:
- Call to the altar. The leader calls the baptized person, the parents when it is a child, and the godparents.
- Position. The child stays in the godmother's lap. The godfather stays by the side, holding the lit candle.
- Cleansing and purification. Many houses clean first with coarse salt and only then pour the consecrated water.
- Pemba. The leader crosses points on the body, generally the forehead, the chest, and the hands.
- Prayers and chanted points. The curimba calls the orixás and the guias who support the rite.
- Closing. In some houses, a bath of petals follows, with white roses distributed by a spirit of the house.
The water can come from the waterfall, the spring, or the sea. Therefore, the baptism does not always take place in the barracão: waterfall, river, and beach are equally traditional locations.
The herbs that go into the water are chosen by the house. There is no public formula, and be wary of those who publish one as if it were a standard of Umbanda.
Who can be baptized and the question of age
An adult is baptized. The rule that circulates in many houses is simple: anyone who wants to, whether a medium or not, can receive the baptism.
The difference between a child and an adult is in who makes the decision. Parents hand over the child to the rite. The adult presents themselves of their own free will.
Regarding the minimum age, houses truly diverge. Three positions coexist:
- No limit: there are terreiros that baptize babies in their first year of life.
- From nine or ten years old: houses that prefer to wait for the child to understand what they are receiving.
- In early childhood: houses that treat baptism as a unique sacrament of life and prefer to do it early.
None of the three is the rule of Umbanda. Each is the rule of a set of houses. The article about the vertentes da umbanda helps to understand why the religion does not have a single code.
Godfather and godmother: what is assumed upon accepting
This is the point least explained around, and the heaviest for those who receive the invitation.
Godfather and godmother assume the commitment to accompany the godchild throughout life. They guide, protect, and respond when called, inside and outside the terreiro. During the rite, they hold the lit candle.
The choice is made through affective ties and spiritual affinity. Position in the house and social status do not count.
The format of the godparents also varies. Some houses work with one incarnate godfather and one godmother, plus another pair of disincarnate spirits who support from the spiritual side. Others define that the godfather and godmother are a male and a female orixá, or two spirits of the house, without an incarnate pair.
Accepting to be a godparent is not a one-day honor. It is a presence throughout the years. If you do not intend to accompany the person's path, refuse with sincerity and everyone wins.
What to bring on the day of the baptism
The list changes from terreiro to terreiro, and the house always passes its own. The set below gathers what appears most frequently:
- White clothing. Many houses ask for two changes, because one comes out wet.
- White baptism candle, linked to Oxalá (Obatala). For children, some houses use pink and blue candles of the erês.
- Virgin white pemba.
- Head cloth.
- Oxalá bead necklace. The beads are raw material until they pass through the house's rite, as explained in the guide about bead necklaces in Umbanda.
- White towel, without patterns, at most with a ribbon in the color of the head orixá.
- Flowers, with chrysanthemum, snake plant, and white roses among the most requested.
The baptismal candle usually returns home after the rite and is kept. It becomes a personal firmeza, and the meaning of candle colors shows why Oxalá's white opens this path.
Regarding the precept of the previous days, there is also divergence. There are houses that ask for seven days of abstinence from red meat, alcohol, and sexual relations, with marked baths. There are houses that do not ask for any precept. Ask yours.
Don't know what your head orixá is? The test in discover your orixá provides a first path to choose the towel ribbon.
I was already baptized in the church. Do I need to be baptized again?
This question appears a lot, and the honest answer is that Umbanda does not speak with a single voice.
Some houses understand that the first baptism received in life is what counts. In this reading, those who were already baptized in the Catholic Church undergo a conversion, a conscious entry into the new current, and not a second baptism. Other houses simply baptize those who arrive, without distinction.
Both readings have circulated for decades and neither nullifies the other. Neither of them, it is worth saying, treats the Catholic baptism as invalid. The discussion is internal to Umbanda, regarding the rite itself.
Baptism is also not confused with the feitura de santo of Candomblé. In the nação ketu, initiation involves recolhimento, raspagem, and obligations that extend for years, as shown in the text about what is iaô. Umbanda baptism is a ceremony, not an initiatory cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Does baptism in Umbanda make the person a medium?
No. The presentation baptism welcomes and introduces the person to the house's orixás. Those who enter the mediumship current go through another path, with aspirantado, cruzamento, and development, treated in mediumship development in Umbanda. They are different paths.
Is there a certificate or registration book for the baptism?
Some houses keep their own records of the ceremonies, others do not. There is no standardized official document in Umbanda, as happens in the church. Ask your terreiro if the house issues any proof and how it is stored.
Where does the baptism take place?
In the terreiro or at a point of strength in nature. Waterfalls, springs, rivers, lakes, and beaches are traditional locations, because consecrated water plays a central role in the rite. The choice depends on the fundamento and the house's calendar.
How much does a baptism in Umbanda cost?
The rite itself is not sold. What the family usually covers is the material: candles, pemba, bead necklace, headscarf, towel, and flowers. A house that charges a high fee for the sacrament deserves a second look before you move forward.
Where to buy the baptism material
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you can assemble the rite's kit without searching in five places:
- White candles of Oxalá: and pink and blue candles of erê for a child's baptism
- Virgin white pemba: the pemba that the leader uses to cross the points
- Bead necklaces (guias) and beads of Oxalá: assembled or in loose beads for the house to consecrate
- Headscarf and white towel: plain, in the cotton that the rite requires
- Herbs and flowers: chrysanthemum, white rose and snake plant (espada de São Jorge)
Stop by the shop, at Rua Benedito Zingari, 460, Bela Vista, in Extrema-MG, or message on WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil.
One last word. Baptism opens a path, it does not solve it. What sustains the child or the baptized adult is the coexistence with the house, the care of the godparents, and the presence in the giras. Start by asking your leader, who is the one who knows the fundamento of your terreiro.
References
- Portal Terra: report on the baptism ritual within Umbanda
- Templo Espiritual Caboclo Pena Verde: description of the baptism sequence in the house
- Alma de Poeta: transcription regarding age, godparents, and location of the baptism in Umbanda
- Gustavo Ruiz Chiesa: ethnography on learning and hierarchy in an Umbanda terreiro, Religião e Sociedade v. 40 n. 2 (SciELO)
