Exu Veludo is the guardian of the fine deal. Among the povo de rua, where each falange has a way of working, he is the one of the soft word, of negotiation, and of personal magnetism.
Comparison helps. Tiriri cuts and cleans. Tranca Ruas guards and locks. Veludo convinces. He acts where brute force solves nothing, and conversation solves everything.
This guide gathers the profile of the spirit, explains where the name comes from, and shows, with honesty, where the houses diverge from each other.
Exu orixá (orisha) and Exu guardian are not the same thing
Before any profile, it is necessary to separate two things that the internet mixes up.
Exu orixá is the lord of paths and communication of the Yoruba pantheon, the first to receive in any rite. About him, the correct text is who is Exu.
Exu guardião is another category. They are spirits that work in Quimbanda and in the gira of the left side of Umbanda, organized in falanges with their own names: Tiriri, Tranca Ruas, Marabô, Veludo. They work under the law of the orixá, but they are not the orixá.
Veludo belongs to the second group. And falange means an entire people under the same name and the same mystery, not a single spirit. Therefore, there is no official biography of him, and be wary of anyone who presents one.
Each house keeps its own history of origin for the guardian, and these stories do not coincide with each other. This is not a flaw of the religion. It is what happens when the fundamento is oral and living, transmitted from terreiro to terreiro.
Why is he called Veludo
Two accounts circulate, and both coexist without canceling each other out.
The first is from speech. It comes from the popular expression that someone is a veludo when speaking. The falange communicates with a polished, polite, velvety manner, without harshness even when saying hard things.
The second is from clothing. The falange presents itself with a turban and velvet fabrics of oriental origin, a mark of refinement that remained in the name.
The archetype that emerges from this is consistent in the sources: elegant, discreet, diplomatic, with great personal magnetism. A guardian who works with cloth, needle, bowl, and pemba, tools of someone who sews and undoes, not of someone who breaks.
Exu Veludo profile: day, colors, greeting, and offering
What follows is what is repeated in the sources. Nothing here is law, because Quimbanda has no single manual.
- Greeting: Laroyê, Exu Veludo!
- Day: Monday, the day of Exu's people
- Colors: red and black
- Drink: whiskey and fine drinks. Some houses record coconut or peanut liquor
- Tobacco: cigar
- Offering: red and black candles, cigar, red roses, red wine or whiskey
- Place of power: riverbank and crossroads. One of the sources specifies the right side of the river in relation to the sunset
- Areas of action: opening of paths, energy cleansing, breaking of demanda and issues involving people, image and conversation
Note the detail of the point of strength. The riverbank is what most distinguishes Veludo from the guardians of the land crossroads. This matches his fame in causes that ask for sweetness instead of cutting.
The way to deliver follows the pattern of the povo de rua, explained in offering for Exu. Regarding the colors of the candles, the guide of ritual candles and their meanings applies.
Regarding setting the guardian at home: firmeza and assentamento are terreiro foundations, conducted by the leader. No one sets up an Exu assentamento on their own with an internet recipe.
Oxum or Ogum? The divergence that no one resolves
Here is the most searched question about the spirit, and the honest answer is that the sources disagree.
One line records Veludo as one of the closest messengers of Oxum, also working with Ogum, Xangô (Shango), and Oxóssi (Oshosi). Another line places him under Ogum, acting closely with Xangô and Oxóssi. A third one does not establish a regency, and classifies the falange by magnetism.
The first two readings explain different things about the same guardian. The link with Oxum explains his fame in matters of love, beauty, and personal image. The link with Ogum explains the firmness when opening a path and sustaining the demanda.
Do not choose on your own. Who establishes the regency is the foundation of your house, and the answer changes from terreiro to terreiro without any of them being wrong.
The subfalanges of Veludo
Part of the sources record developments of the falange, each with its own character within the same mystery:
- Veludo Menino: the youngest passage, with a light and playful manner
- Veludo dos Sete Cruzeiros: linked to the cruzeiros and the work of the encruzilhada
- Veludo das Almas: linked to the field of souls and the undoing of heavy demanda
The documentary basis of these subfalanges is thinner than the rest of the file, and not every house works with them. Where the falange fits within the larger system is described in reinos da quimbanda.
Exu Veludo is not the demon
This confusion needs to be dismantled head-on, because it is the biggest source of prejudice against the religion.
The association between Exu and the Christian devil does not come from African tradition. It was constructed during colonization, when catechesis read the orixá of the paths within a moral scheme of good versus evil that did not exist in the original worship. Reginaldo Prandi documented this process in detail in Revista USP.
Quimbanda is also not the moral opposite of Umbanda. Academic research describes Exus as entities of pragmatic morality. They demand personal responsibility and reveal what a person truly has, instead of operating in a rigid dichotomy.
And the phrase that every serious house repeats is valid: a guardian does not take away anyone's will. Ritual work that promises to tie, bind, or bend a person is not fundamento, it is commerce. Whoever offers this is selling, not working.
Frequently asked questions
Is Exu Veludo from Umbanda or Quimbanda?
From both. He is worshiped in Quimbanda and also in the gira da esquerda of Umbanda, which works with the povo de rua within the Umbandista liturgy. The relationship between the two traditions is explained in difference between Umbanda and Quimbanda. The way of receiving and working changes according to the house.
What is Exu Veludo's drink?
Sources converge on whiskey and other fine drinks, consistent with the archetype of refinement of the falange. Some houses record coconut or peanut batida (a Brazilian cocktail). The brand, the quantity, and the moment of delivery are defined by the terreiro leader, never by an internet list.
Is there a ponto cantado (sacred song) for Exu Veludo?
There are pontos that circulate with his name, but none have been confirmed in a reliable public domain source. Therefore, we do not reproduce lyrics here. If you want to understand what a ponto (sacred song) is and how it works in the gira, see pontos cantados in Umbanda.
Can I set Exu Veludo at home?
Firmeza and assentamento are the foundation of the house, conducted by the pai or mãe de santo. Lighting a candle in respect is one thing, setting up an assentamento is something quite different. Seek your leader before any step, because the guidance changes according to your coroa and the foundation of the terreiro.
Where to buy Exu Veludo material
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find the povo de rua material with provenance:
- Red and black candles: individual, seven-day, and in pairs
- Cigars and tobacco leaf: in the formats the gira requires
- Bead necklaces in red and black: assembled or in loose beads for the house to consecrate
- Statues and tools of Exu: in resin and in metal
- Clay dishes, pemba and herbs: for the firmeza that your leader instructs
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. Every page that speaks of Exu Veludo pretends there is a correct version of the profile. There is none. Use this guide to arrive informed at your house and ask there for the rest, because that is where the foundation that matters to you is located.
References
- Reginaldo Prandi: Exu, from messenger to the devil, on the demonization of the orixá in colonization, Revista USP n. 50 (2001)
- Carvalho and Bairrão: umbanda and quimbanda as a black alternative to white morality, Psicologia USP v. 30 (SciELO)
- Cruz and Arruda: research on the povo de rua in Umbanda terreiros of Rio de Janeiro, revista Memorandum (UFMG)
- Wikipedia: entry on the falange of Exu Veludo, with the subfalanges and the tools
