Anyone who works in a religious items shop hears this question every week: "is this for umbanda or for quimbanda?". Behind it, there is almost always another doubt, older, that the person is ashamed to say out loud.
The difference between umbanda and quimbanda is not the difference between good and evil. They are two distinct Brazilian traditions, with their own origins, their own spirits, and their own ways of organizing the ritual work. The division that many people carry in their heads is moral and historical, not theological.
This guide compares the two side by side: where each one was born, who works in each gira, and what the offerings are like. It also explains why so many houses practice both, and where the fame that haunts quimbanda until today came from.
What truly separates the two
In one sentence: umbanda organizes the ritual work around spirit guides like caboclos and pretos-velhos, while quimbanda organizes the worship around Exus and Pombagiras.
It is not a difference of moral quality. It is a difference of who is the owner of the house. In umbanda, Exu (Eshu) is invited, guards the door, and executes the order of the gira. In quimbanda, the gira belongs to him.
There are other important distances: the time of the ritual work, the location of the offering, the ritual vocabulary, and the logic of what is requested. None of them places one religion above the other.
Where each one was born
The umbanda organized itself in Brazil at the beginning of the 20th century. The most cited reference is that of Zélio Fernandino de Moraes, in 1908, in Rio de Janeiro. It was born as a synthesis: Candomblé, Kardecism, popular Catholicism, and indigenous traditions within the same hall.
The word quimbanda is older than this story. It comes from the Kimbundu kimbanda, which names the healer, the priest who treats and resolves. In the Candomblé de Angola, the Tata Kimbanda was already a position with a defined function.
Here is the point that almost no one tells. After Umbanda organized itself around a morality of charity, the name "Quimbanda" began to be used by the Umbandistas themselves to point out what they refused. A large part of the stigma was born from within, as an accusation, and not as a description of a doctrine.
In Rio Grande do Sul, the pattern is even more specific. Quimbanda gained autonomy starting in the 1960s, moving away from the so-called crossed line, which gathered batuque and Umbanda in the same terreiro. The article “The enigma of quimbanda”, by Emerson Giumbelli and Leonardo Oliveira de Almeida, well documents this process.
Who works in each gira
In Umbanda, the gira opens for a wide variety of spirits. Caboclos, pretos-velhos, erês, baianos, boiadeiros, marinheiros, and Romani spirits each serve in their own line. Exus and Pombagiras appear as guardians, and the orixás (orishas) function as governing forces. The article about the spirit guides of umbanda details these falanges.
In Quimbanda, the worship focuses on Exus and Pombagiras, organized into kingdoms and falanges. Encruzilhadas, cruzeiro, matas, calunga, almas, lira, and praia give names to these domains, which are already explained in detail in the text about the kingdoms of Quimbanda.
About "left" and "right": these terms are internal vocabulary for organizing ritual work, not a moral scale. Gira de esquerda means the gira of the people of Exu, and nothing more.
Comparison table
| Criteria | Umbanda | Quimbanda |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | Brazil, beginning of the 20th century, reference to Zélio de Moraes (1908) | Quimbundo term kimbanda; autonomous urban cult consolidated in the 20th century |
| Central spirits | Caboclos, pretos-velhos, erês, baianos, boiadeiros | Exus and Pombagiras, in kingdoms and phalanges |
| Role of Exu | Guest and guardian, works under the direction of the house | Owner of the house, with their own assentamento and cult |
| Gira | Daytime or early evening, sung chant (ponto cantado) in Portuguese | Traditionally nocturnal, with own toque and sung chant (ponto cantado) |
| Offerings | Nature points of the line and congá of the terreiro | Crossroads, calunga, forest, roadside |
| Attire | Predominant white, bead necklaces (guias) by line | Strong colors by realm: black, red, purple |
| Focus of the ritual work | Charity and mediumship development | Practical resolution of concrete life issues |
| Morality | Ethics of charity, Christian-Kardecist heritage | Ethics of responsibility and exchange, without a division of good against evil |
One honest caveat: none of this is a closed rule. The day of the gira, the presence of orixá in Quimbanda and the names of the falanges change from house to house and from region to region.
Exu: the same name, two different places
A lot of confusion comes from here. Exu appears in both traditions, but occupies distinct places in each one.
In Umbanda, Exu is a guardian. He opens the path, guards the door, cleanses the environment, and responds to the direction of the terreiro. The main gira belongs to other spirit guides, and he works alongside them.
In Quimbanda, Exu is the center. He receives his own assentamento, has a defined hierarchy, and it is to him that the ritual work is dedicated. In some houses in Rio Grande do Sul, he even receives ritual treatment comparable to that of an orixá, with expressions like "Exu cruzado".
It is worth stating the obvious, because it is still necessary: Exu has no relation to the devil of Christian traditions. This association was produced from the outside, by catechesis and the press, and does not describe what happens in any terreiro.
Why do so many houses practice both
If the difference is real, why do so many terreiros open an Umbanda gira and a Quimbanda gira at the same address?
Because the two complement each other in practice. Many houses declared themselves as umbanda cruzada and work both lines with separate organization:
- Different days: the left-side gira usually takes place on Monday or Friday, but this varies
- Different spaces: the tronqueira stays at the entrance, outside the main hall
- Different ritual: opening, sung chant, and clothing follow the line of the day
There are also houses exclusively of Quimbanda, with their own foundation and hierarchy, that never open a right-side gira. Both configurations are legitimate. To better understand how an Umbanda session works, it is worth reading the text about the Umbanda gira.
And Candomblé, where does it fit into this conversation? In another place, with its own liturgy and structure, a theme treated in the comparison between Umbanda and Candomblé.
Where does the fame of "black magic" come from?
The label of "black magic" was never a category of Quimbanda. It was an accusation, and it is worth knowing who it came from.
First it came from outside, in the persecution of Afro-Brazilian religions, which the police and the press treated as a public order case for decades. Then it came from within, when sectors of Umbanda used the name to distance themselves from what they considered disrespectful.
Recent academic research dismantles this framing. The article "Umbanda and Quimbanda: black alternative to white morality", by Juliana Carvalho and José Francisco Bairrão, in the journal Psicologia USP, directly contests the reading of Quimbanda as a perverse inversion of Umbanda. What ethnography finds is another ethics, not the absence of ethics.
What Quimbanda does not adopt is the Manichean division between good and evil. In its place, a logic of personal responsibility and exchange operates. This bothers those who expect from every religion the same Christian grammar of sin and redemption.
Frequently asked questions
Is Quimbanda the same as Umbanda?
No. They are distinct traditions, with their own origins, spirits, and liturgies. Umbanda is organized around spirit guides such as caboclos and pretos-velhos, and Quimbanda around Exus and Pombagiras. Many houses practice both, on separate days and in separate spaces, which helps create the confusion.
Is Quimbanda "black magic"?
No. The label is an external accusation, inherited from the persecution of Afro-Brazilian religions and reinforced by sectors of Umbanda itself in the 20th century. Quimbanda is a religion with its own foundation, hierarchy, and ethics, and recent academic research directly contests this reading.
Is the Exu in Umbanda the same Exu as in Quimbanda?
The name is the same, the ritual place is different. In Umbanda, Exu acts as a guardian, opens a path and works under the direction of the house. In Quimbanda, he is the center of the worship, receives his own assentamento and it is to him that the gira is dedicated.
Is a gira de esquerda Quimbanda?
Not always, but frequently that is what it is called. "Esquerda" names the ritual work with the people of Exu, and many houses of umbanda cruzada use the term for the gira they dedicate to these spirits. The vocabulary changes according to the region and the tradition of the house.
Can you attend umbanda and quimbanda at the same time?
You can, and it is common. A large part of the terreiros of umbanda cruzada open both giras, on different days. Who defines what is appropriate for each person is the direction of the house, considering the mediumship development and the life moment of each one.
Where to buy items for umbanda and quimbanda
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find material for both giras:
- Candles of all colors: white for the right, red and black for the left
- Guias (bead necklaces): assembled by line and by falange
- Statues and assentamentos: Exu, Pombagira, caboclos and pretos-velhos
- Dried herbs and incense: for ritual bath, environment cleaning and smoke cleansing of the house
- Ritual drinks, cigars and seven-day candles: the most requested items for firmeza
Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or contact us on WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil.
To learn about the origin of the term and the historical use of the word, see the “Quimbanda” entry on Wikipedia.
References
- Emerson Giumbelli and Leonardo Oliveira de Almeida: “O enigma da quimbanda”, article in the Antropológica magazine (Scielo)
- Juliana Carvalho and José Francisco Bairrão: “Umbanda e quimbanda: alternativa negra à moral branca”, article in the Psicologia USP magazine (Scielo)
- Wikipedia: entry “Quimbanda”, about the origin and historical use of the term
