What preto-velho likes to receive fits on a simple table: coffee, tobacco leaf, candle, and flower. It is an offering from people of the roça, and simplicity is the point, not a budget limitation.
Here you see what is offered, what he drinks, on which day he is received, where to leave it, and what not to bring. Who the spirit is and how it works is in pretos-velhos na umbanda.
What to offer to a preto-velho
The coffee is the offering most associated with them, and it is the safest when you do not have guidance from the house. It appears on the list of foods of the House of the Pretos-Velhos of the Santuário Nacional da Umbanda, which is the largest open institutional reference on the theme.
What comes with it, with source registration:
- Fumo de rolo, pipe, and straw cigarette, the work objects of the spirit.
- White and black candles, which are the colors of the line of the souls. The use of colors is in ritual candles.
- Simple roça food, such as cake, cornmeal, corn, sweet potato, tapioca, and cassava.
- Rue branch, the herb with which the preto-velho himself blesses in the gira.
- Rosary or beads, which accompany the spirit in consultations.
- White and yellow flowers, according to the house custom.
Notice what this list does not have. It does not have popcorn, which is the food of Obaluaê and has a page in popcorn of Obaluaê, and it does not have a purple candle, which appears in blogs and not in sources. When the internet mixes the offering of a spirit with that of an orixá (orisha), the devotee is the one who is embarrassed at the congá.
Preto velho is not an orixá. It is the spirit of an ancestor who lived here, and who works under the irradiation of an orixá. Their offering is that of an older person from the family, not that of a divinity.
What preto velho likes to drink
Coffee. This is the short answer, and it is the only one that holds true in every house. The rest changes, and it is worth knowing the variation before going out to buy.
The research by Lourival Andrade Júnior, from UFRN, records the offering of sweet drinks to pretos-velhos, such as cachaça with honey or molasses and sweet wine. It is a documented practice, and it is not a universal rule.
On the other side, there are many houses that do not work with alcoholic beverages at all. In these, the offering is coffee, water, or juice, and insisting on wine is disrespect, not devotion. The anthropologist Melina Sousa Gomes, from UFC, summarizes the scenario by writing that each Umbanda center has its own way of functioning, which gives the terreiros great heterogeneity.
The practical conclusion is simple. If you have a house, ask the leader before bringing any drink. If you do not, bring coffee.
Tobacco leaf, the pipe, and smoke cleansing
Tobacco is not the spirit's addiction, it is a tool. The smoke from the rolled tobacco and the straw cigarette cleanses: it cleanses the environment and the person being attended. Therefore, the pipe appears in the hand of the preto velho in almost every serious description of the gira.
The researcher Lívia Lima Rezende, in a study published in the Afro-Ásia magazine of UFBA, lists rosary, cane, and pipe among the instruments that accompany the pretos-velhos in conversations and in ritual works. They are objects of the trade, like the walking stick and the stump.
In the domestic offering, tobacco leaf enters as an offering: a piece of rolled tobacco leaf next to the cup, or the clay pipe left on the congá. The smoke cleansing of the environment itself is another subject and is in how to do smoke cleansing for cleaning.
The day to bring the offering
Monday is the most cited day of the week, and the National Sanctuary of Umbanda records it as such. A good part of the houses add the pretos-velhos and the souls to Monday, a point that already appears in days of the week of the orixás.
The annual date is May 13, the signing of the Golden Law, in 1888. Part of the intellectuals and Umbanda militants propose changing it to November 20, the day of Zumbi dos Palmares, and Andrade Júnior records the debate. The history of the two dates and what the houses do on the day are in preto velho day.
Where to leave and how to deliver
There are three places that the sources support, and the choice depends on where you are in the religion.
- On the home congá. It is the path of those who do not have a terreiro. A cup of coffee, a lit candle in a proper container, and a flower are enough. The assembly of the congá is in how to set up an umbanda altar.
- At the terreiro, at the point the house designates. The National Sanctuary of Umbanda, for example, maintains a House of Pretos-Velhos, with a specific space to deposit the offering.
- At the foot of a tree, a traditional image of the preto velho sitting on a stool or a log.
About the cemetery and the Cross of Souls, the honest answer is that this is a matter of fundamento and of the dirigente, and the destination changes from house to house. The theme appears in calunga grande and calunga pequena, and it is not something that can be resolved by an article.
Two rules apply everywhere, and both come from the orientation of the Sanctuary. Light the candle inside a candle holder, never loose on the ground, due to the risk of fire. And return later to collect the cup, glass, and what does not decompose. Leaving trash in nature is not an offering, it is dirt.
What not to take
The negative list is short and resolves most of the errors.
- Beer and strong spirits. Melina Sousa Gomes records the rule of the terreiro in one phrase: one must not offer beer to a preto velho, nor whiskey to a princess. Each entidade has a taste linked to its own history.
- Alcohol in a house that does not work with alcohol. The dirigente decides, always.
- Dead animal or sacrifice in public space, a practice forbidden in the offering locations of the Sanctuary.
- Glass, plastic, and styrofoam abandoned at the delivery point.
- Agrado as a bargain. Coffee is not payment for a request fulfilled, and no offering obliges the entidade to anything.
- Folklore treatment. Caricatured accent, infantilized nickname, and a picturesque tone are disrespectful to a figure that carries the memory of Brazilian slavery.
If you still do not know which spirit is close to you, the quiz discover your spirit serves as a curious gateway. It does not replace a consultation in a serious house.
Frequently asked questions
What does the preto velho like to receive?
Coffee comes first. Along with it come tobacco leaf, a clay pipe, white and black candles, a sprig of rue, white flowers, and simple roça food, such as cornmeal cake and sweet potato. The list changes depending on the house's preto-velho, and the leader confirms what that spirit receives.
What does preto-velho like to drink?
Coffee is the consensus. Academic research also records sweet drinks in some houses, such as cachaça with honey or molasses and sweet wine. Many terreiros, however, do not work with any alcohol, and in those, the offering is coffee, water, or juice. Ask before bringing a drink.
What is the day of preto-velho in the week?
Monday is the most cited day, and many houses gather the pretos-velhos and the line of Almas on that day. The annual date is May 13, linked to the Golden Law, and part of the Umbanda community advocates for moving the celebration to November 20, the day of Zumbi dos Palmares. See day of preto-velho.
What does preto-velho smoke?
Tobacco leaf in a clay pipe and straw cigarette, and in some houses, a cigar. The smoke has a function of smoke cleansing (defumação): it cleanses the environment and the person being attended during the ritual work. It is not recreational consumption, it is a tool of the trade, like the rosary, the staff, and the cane.
What do you ask for from a preto-velho?
Advice, patience, and path clearing, in the language of Umbanda itself. What is not done is treating the offering as a currency for a result with a deadline. The relationship is one of respect for ancestry, and not a contract with a scheduled delivery.
Where to buy the offering material
At Joia Mística Laroyê you find what the houses usually ask for the line:
- Tobacco leaf, clay pipe, and straw cigarette: the objects of the trade
- White and black candles: individual, seven-day, and taper
- Fresh and dry rue, and herbs for blessing
- Smoke cleansing incense blend (defumador) and incense: for cleansing the environment
- White and black bead necklaces and Job's tears seeds (lágrima-de-Nossa-Senhora): colors and beads in bead necklace in umbanda
- Preto velho statue, chaplet, and rosary: for the home congá
Stop by the shop, at Rua Benedito Zingari, 460, Bela Vista, in Extrema-MG, or message on WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil.
A final word. The offering to the preto-velho is intentionally inexpensive, and no expensive item is worth more than the cup of coffee served with respect. The shop provides the material, and the rest is from your home.
References
- Lívia Lima Rezende: the study on the reworking of the memory of slavery in the umbandista figure of the pretos-velhos, Afro-Ásia magazine, UFBA, 2018
- Lourival Andrade Júnior: the research Adorei as almas, about umbanda, preto-velho, and slavery, with the record of sweet drinks and the debate on the date, XXVII National History Symposium, ANPUH, 2013
- Melina Sousa Gomes: the study on the consumption of alcoholic beverages in an umbanda terreiro, with the rule of what is not offered, 30th Brazilian Anthropology Meeting, ABANT, 2016
- National Sanctuary of Umbanda: the Casa dos Pretos-Velhos page, with the list of foods and the rules of offering
- Wikipedia: the preto-velho entry, with the most well-known names and the date of May 13
