Exu Gato Preto is an Exu guardian of the left line, recorded by researchers in houses of umbanda and quimbanda in Ribeirão Preto (SP), Bocaiuva (MG), and Pato Branco (PR). In the houses studied, he attends consultants and is called for protection and for the heaviest tasks. The origin legend circulating on the internet has no documentation.
Who is Exu Gato Preto
Exu Gato Preto is one of the guardian Exus, and not the orixá Exu of Candomblé. In umbanda, the exus are understood as spirits of deceased people, who work in the left line alongside the pombagiras and the exus mirins. The difference between the orixá and the guardians lies in who is Exu.
A study published in the journal Psicologia USP studied an umbanda house in Ribeirão Preto. There, the function of Exu Gato Preto is to provide support and protection to followers in the face of injustice, persecution, and abuse of power. In a terreiro in Bocaiuva, Minas Gerais, he is among the five main Exus of the house, called for the "heaviest tasks".
“The main Exus worshiped in Zambi-Iris are: Tranca-Rua das Almas, Sete Encruzilhadas, João Caveira, Gato Preto, and Arranca-Toco.”
Fábio da Silva Gonçalves, dissertation, UFMG and Unimontes, 2017
In a quimbanda house in Pato Branco, Paraná, he is described as linked to magical work (feitiçaria) and "high magic," and to the revelation of adversaries' intentions. It is the record of that house, and does not serve as a rule for the others.
Three houses where Exu Gato Preto appears
The three studies followed Exu Gato Preto in different houses, and each one shows a way of working.
Ribeirão Preto (SP). The medium was a gentleman known in the region as a quimbandeiro, who attended everyone every day in a room in his own house. The consultations were performed with two spirits, Exu Quimbandeiro and Exu Gato Preto. Researchers accompanied a ritual in a rural chapel. The consultants waited outside and were attended to one by one, first by Quimbandeiro and then by Gato Preto.
Bocaiuva (MG). Zambi-Iris practices Umbanda and includes quimbandeiro cults, Exus, and pombagiras in the rituals. In August 2016, the house made an offering to Exu Gato Preto with padê and other elements. What padê is is in what is padê.
Pato Branco (PR). The research in quimbanda houses recorded Exu Gato Preto in a note about Pombagira Gato, alongside other Exus and pombagiras with animal names.
Who Exu Gato Preto works with
The documented pair comes from a single house. At Zambi-Iris, the food for Exu Gato Preto was served together with that of Pombagira Dama da Noite, at the Berço, the place where the house made the first offering. The Berço is a dimly lit area at night, surrounded by crossroads. Her profile is in Pombagira Dama da Noite.
In Ribeirão Preto, he attended together with Exu Quimbandeiro. In Bocaiuva, he shared the house with Tranca-Rua das Almas, Sete Encruzilhadas, João Caveira, and Arranca-Toco. Who each Exu works with depends on the house and the medium.
Where the name Gato Preto comes from
The source reading is from Juliana Carvalho and José Bairrão, the authors of the Ribeirão Preto research. For them, the name is linked to the imagery of "witchcraft" that police reports attributed to practitioners of Afro-Brazilian cults. The name thus preserves the memory of the persecution of terreiros.
In the houses of the left, the black cat also has its own meaning. In the Quimbanda studied in Paraná, the cat belongs primarily to the line of the pombagiras and is linked to the powers of the moon and nocturnal sorcery. The same research lists several Exus with animal names, such as Black Panther, Bat, and Snake. The black cat even appears in the sung points of other spirits, such as "black cat in the early morning." Another Exu with an animal name has a profile in Exu Morcego, and the complete list is in names of Exu.
What the sources do not say
Searches ask which orixá, falange, and realm he belongs to, and if he has a history. No serious source answers.
- Orixá and falange: the table by Matta and Silva, which distributes the Exus by the vibrations of the orixás, does not include Exu Gato Preto.
- Realm: none of the researches place him in a realm of Quimbanda.
- History: the two versions that circulate, that of the man killed by the Inquisition and that of the mage from a cave in Ireland, come from a 2013 blog without author or source. They contradict each other.
Whoever answers this for you is the house where Exu Gato Preto works. The Pombagira, the realms, and the place of each Exu in Quimbanda are in what is Quimbanda.
Offering and respect
In Zambi-Iris, the elements of the offerings for the Exus in general are cassava flour, onion, dendê, pepper, ribbons, and black and red candles, alguidar, cigars, and drink. It is the rule of that house for all Exus, and not a specific list for Gato Preto. What is offered, where, and when is the guidance of the leader.
The house also does not treat Exu as evil. For one interviewee, Exu "is a path to be traveled, in which man is the one who decides." The mediums refuse ritual work for evil, such as separating couples or causing illness, because it returns to the one who asked for it. In the greeting recorded there, it says "Laroyê" and the name of the Exu, followed by "é Mojubá".
Frequently asked questions
Which orixá is Exu Gato Preto?
No serious source says. The Matta and Silva table, which links the Exus to the vibrations of the orixás, does not include Exu Gato Preto. In each house, the leader is the one who defines the line and the orixá to whom he responds.
Which Pombagira does Exu Gato Preto work with?
The only documented pair is with Pombagira Dama da Noite, in a house in Bocaiuva (MG), where the food of the two was served together. It is not a rule: in another house, in Ribeirão Preto, he served alongside Exu Quimbandeiro.
Is Exu Gato Preto rare?
He is not in the classic lists of Umbanda literature, such as Matta and Silva's. But he appears in three field studies, in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Paraná, and in one of them, he is among the five main Exus of the house.
Is Exu Gato Preto evil?
No, in the houses studied. In Ribeirão Preto, his function is to protect followers against injustice and persecution. In Bocaiuva, the mediums refuse ritual work for evil.
References
- Juliana Carvalho and José Bairrão: umbanda and quimbanda, a black alternative to white morality, Psicologia USP, 2019
- Fábio da Silva Gonçalves: the food in the terreiros of candomblé, umbanda, and quimbanda in Bocaiuva, dissertation, UFMG and Unimontes, 2017
- Jean Filipe Favaro: territorialities of axé in southwestern Paraná, thesis, UTFPR, 2023
- Sônia Regina Corrêa Lages: Exu, light and shadows, UFJF, 2003
- Terreiro de Umbanda Pai Maneco: Exu points booklet
