Pombagira Menina is a falange of pombagira in many houses and the name of the female mirim line in others. Reginaldo Prandi registers her among the most well-known pombagiras. Meanwhile, Casa do Vô Benedito, a terreiro in Campo Largo (PR), calls the partners of Exu (Eshu) Mirim "Pombagiras Meninas." The leader answers which of the two works in your house.
Who is Pombagira Menina
Pombagira Menina is a pombagira: for Prandi, pombagira "is an Exu, or rather, an Exu-woman, as she herself likes to be called." In the text Pombagira e as faces inconfessas do Brasil, from USP, he lists Menina alongside Maria Quitéria, Dama da Noite, and Menina da Praia.
“Pombagira is singular but is also plural. They are many, each one with a particular name, appearance, preferences, symbols, and chants (cantigas)."
Reginaldo Prandi, Herdeiras do Axé, 1996
Menina, then, is a name of falange: various spirits respond to it. The Terreiro de Umbanda Pai Maneco, in Curitiba, confirms this reading in practice. The pontos of Pomba Gira Menina are in the house's apostila de pontos de Pomba Gira, along with those of Maria Padilha and Dama da Noite. The Exu Mirim apostila does not mention her.
The life stories circulating about Menina contradict each other. Prandi recalls that many pombagiras are considered spirits of the dead, "some with very popular mythical biographies." Accounts of violence told as her biography have no source and are not included here. The general profile of the spirit is in who is Pombagira.
Is Pombagira Menina the mirim?
It depends on the house. In some terreiros, Menina is an adult pombagira. In others, it is the name of the female mirim line, the partner of Exu Mirim.
- Menina as a mirim line. At Casa do Vô Benedito, "the Exus Mirins and Pombagiras Meninas complete the trinity of the Esquerda." Researcher Beatriz Minghelli studied a terreiro in southern Portugal where the left line has Exu, Pomba-gira, Exu Mirim, and "Menina-mirim." The study appeared in the revista PLURA.
- Menina as an adult pombagira. It is the record of Prandi and Pai Maneco. An Umbandista medium who writes under their own name defends the same thing: she "is a Pombagira like many others, who has the name Menina".
And the mirim itself also moves from house to house. The sociologist Sulivan Charles Barros recorded in Brasília, in the Revista Brasileira de História das Religiões, Umbandistas who saw the exu-mirins as "child spirits". In Minghelli's interviews, no spirit defined itself as a child. The comparison between mirim, erê, and Exu is in the article about Exu Mirim.
Menina da Praia, Menina do Cabaré and other names
The search shows many Meninas with place names: das Almas, da Calunga, da Estrada, da Encruzilhada, do Cruzeiro. Pombagira usually gains a name from the place where she works. Three names ask for explanation.
| Name | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Menina da Praia | Pombagira from Prandi's list, linked to the sea and Iemanjá |
| Menina do Cabaré | The Menina of the ponto that speaks of when she was a child; in one house, from the line of Iansã (Oya) |
| Menina do Ouro | The name circulates, but no source describes this Menina |
The Menina da Praia appears separate from the Menina in Prandi's list. The researcher Tadeu Mourão Lopes, in an article from UERJ, writes that she "is linked to the sea and, therefore, to Iemanjá". A house in Maringá (PR) also places her in the energy of Oxum (Oshun) and offers champagne or cider on the beach.
Menina do Cabaré is the name that searches and some houses give to the Menina of a much-sung ponto, which speaks of when she was a girl. The Centro Pai João de Angola, in Maringá, links her to the line of Iansã. A name that only appears in searches does not count as foundation.
The ponto (sacred song) of Pombagira Menina
Pai Maneco records this verse for Menina:
“Firma, firma seu ponto / Firma na encruzilhada”
Ponto (sacred song) of Pomba Gira Menina, handout from the Terreiro de Umbanda Pai Maneco
The best-known ponto of Menina is another one, about the time when she was a child. It circulates recorded, without an identified composer. Ana Laura Brito and Nara Takaki analyzed pombagira pontos in the Revista Sede de Ler, from UFF. They show that pombagiras with a young image, "many times" Menina, sing in their pontos their own pains and the refusal to be domesticated.
The authors cite the reading of Doté Luiz de Iansã: the ponto (sacred song) reminds that pombagiras "were not born Pombagiras, they were born innocent girls." It is a report of pain and survival. Whoever reads seduction there reads it wrong. Brito and Takaki also write that reducing the pombagira to love matters "is to ignore all the potential and importance of a Pombagira".
What Pombagira Menina receives
Type: pombagira spiritual legion (falange) or linha mirim, depending on the house | Colors: red and black | Flower: open red rose | Greeting: Laroyê Pombagira Menina, Pombagira Menina é Mojubá
Where Menina is an adult pombagira, she receives what the pombagiras receive. Prandi records gifts such as red and black fabrics, perfumes, costume jewelry, champagne and "open red roses (never buds)", with red, black and sometimes white candles. In Umbanda, cider enters as "a kind of cheap champagne made of apple." The greeting follows the form that Fábio Gonçalves noted in the field, in the UFMG dissertation: Laroyê followed by the name, and the name followed by "é Mojubá".
In the terreiro where Gonçalves studied in Bocaiuva (MG), the offerings for the pombagiras "are not very different": padê, sparkling wines, red fruits, and red roses. Where the Menina is mirim, the dish changes. In the House of Vô Benedito, Exu Mirim and Pombagira Menina receive farofa, cocoa or chocolate, and dedo-de-moça pepper. The drinks for each spirit are in pombagira drink.
Regarding where to deliver, the ponto (sacred song) of Pai Maneco says to set it at the crossroads. For the Menina da Praia, one house delivers at the seashore. The Bocaiuva rule applies to any place: collect the offered material when possible. Pombagira giras usually happen late at night, generally on Fridays, according to Prandi. There is no record of a specific day for the Menina.
Nothing here is a love binding ritual or a romantic promise. The pombagira consecrated foundation (assentamento) stays with the house. In Quimbanda, the consecrated foundations are kept reserved, and whoever conducts the ritual needs to be initiated, as Giumbelli and Almeida record in the Revista de Antropologia.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pombagira Menina an Exu Mirim?
In some houses, yes: Menina is the name of the female mirim line, partner of Exu Mirim. In others, such as in Prandi's record and at Terreiro Pai Maneco, Menina is an adult pombagira, and the Exu Mirim notes do not even mention her name.
Which orixá (orisha) is Pombagira Menina from?
No research gives a fixed orixá for her. A house in Maringá links the Menina do Cabaré to Iansã, and Lopes links the Menina da Praia to the sea and Iemanjá. Line and orixá change from house to house. Whoever responds for hers is the leader.
What does Pombagira Menina like to receive?
Where it is an adult pombagira, the same as the others: open red roses, sparkling wine or cider, perfume, jewelry and red and black candles. Where it is mirim, a house offers farofa, cocoa and pepper. Ask at your house before setting up the offering (agrado).
Does the spirit test show Pombagira Menina?
No. The spirit test has a Pombagira result, but does not point to a falange. The pombagira who works with you is known in the gira, with the house leader.
Where to buy items for Pombagira Menina
At Joia Mística Laroyê you find what your house uses in the left line:
- Red and black candles, taper and seven-day
- Pombagira statues in plaster and resin, in various models and sizes
- Cups for the sparkling wine or the cider of the gira
- Perfumes and essences for the altar
- Pombagira bead necklaces in red and black colors
Stop by the shop, at Rua Benedito Zingari, 460, Bela Vista, in Extrema-MG, or message on WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil.
References
- Reginaldo Prandi: Pombagira and the Unconfessed Faces of Brazil, 1996
- Brito and Takaki: Between words and pontos, Revista Sede de Ler, UFF, 2025
- Tadeu Mourão Lopes: the case of the pombajira menina, UERJ, 2010
- Beatriz Minghelli: study with Exu Mirim spirits, PLURA, 2025
- Sulivan Charles Barros: The Exus Mirins of Umbanda, ANPUH, 2010
- Fábio da Silva Gonçalves: food in the terreiros of Bocaiuva, UFMG, 2017
- Giumbelli and Almeida: The enigma of Quimbanda, 2021
- Terreiro de Umbanda Pai Maneco: handout of Pomba Gira pontos
