Quizila is the ritual prohibition that the filho de santo observes in Candomblé: food, drink, color, or attitude that their orixá does not accept, such as pumpkin for the children of Iansã. In common Portuguese, the word also means antipathy, annoyance, or a fight.
Both meanings come from the same root, the word kijila from Kimbundu, a Bantu language of Angola. Below are the religious and common meanings, the table of quizilas for each orixá, and what happens when a quizila is broken.
What is quizila: religious meaning and common meaning
In Candomblé, quizila is the prohibition that the initiate respects so as not to weaken their axé, the vital force that the initiation settled on their head. It can be a food, a drink, a clothing color, a place, or a gesture. Outside the terreiro, quizila is a dictionary word and means unreasoned antipathy, annoyance, or disagreement.
Origin: Kimbundu kijila, "fasting precept, prohibition" | Class: feminine noun | Variants: quizília, quezila | Names in the nations: quizila or kijila (Angola), ewó or èèwò (Ketu)
The Dictionary records both sides. In everyday language, quizila is natural antipathy toward something or someone, impatience, or discussion. In the religion, it is the aversion to certain foods or behaviors. The Bantu dictionary by Nei Lopes, cited in the Fiocruz study, adds the verb quizilar, to bother, and quizilento, the annoying person. Whoever says "so-and-so is in a quizila with me" is using the word in the common sense.
In the terreiro, the best image is that of allergy. A study published in the Journal of Food and Cultures of the Americas, conducted in an Angola nation Candomblé, interviewed filhos de santo who describe quizila as something the body feels: difficulty digesting, dizziness, allergy, feeling unwell just from the smell of the food. As the authors summarize:
“Quizila manifests outside the terreiro as an allergy.”
Therefore, quizila is not a punishment or penalty from the divinity. It is a precaution, and the filho de santo respects it as part of the relationship with their head orixá.
Quizila, ewó and kijila: the name changes with the nation
Quizila, ewó and kijila are names for the same idea in different languages. Brazilian Candomblé brought together peoples of Bantu and Yoruba origin, and each nation kept its word.
In the houses of Angola and Congo, of Bantu origin, the term is kizila or kijila. The Fiocruz study explains that kijila comes from the verb jila, to fast, with the prefix ki. In these houses, quizila relates to the inquices, the Bantu divinities, which you know better in what is an nkisi.
In the Ketu nation, of Yoruba language, the name is èèwò, written in daily life as ewó. The meaning is the same: that which is not eaten, not touched, and not done out of respect for the orixá. The overview of the houses is in Candomblé nations.
Over time, quizila became the most popular word in all nations, including in Umbanda, where the idea appears with other names in precepts in Umbanda. Some terreiros that preserve this knowledge are among those listed by IPHAN.
Table of quizilas for each orixá
The quizila of each orixá is the taboo that applies to his children. The table below follows the list of children's taboos published by the sociologist Reginaldo Prandi for the Ketu nation Candomblé, with other quizilas that appear recorded in different houses.
| Orixá | Tabu dos filhos (Prandi, Ketu nation) | Other quizilas registered in houses |
|---|---|---|
| Exu | carrying objects on the head | excess of water and honey |
| Ogum (Ogun) | getting drunk | okra, sword mango |
| Oxóssi | eating honey | tangerine, coconut, hunting |
| Ossaim (Osanyin) | whistling | |
| Oxumarê | crawling | goose meat |
| Omolu (Obaluaê) | going to funerals | crab and crustaceans, pineapple, pork |
| Xangô (Shango) | contact with the dead and cemeteries; dress in red | |
| Iansã (Oyá) | eat lamb or sheep; eat pumpkin | stingray, pink mango |
| Obá (Oba) | eat mushrooms; wear earrings | |
| Oxum (Oshun) | eat scaled fish | eggs, watermelon |
| Logun Edé | wear brown or red clothing | |
| Euá | eat female birds | |
| Iemanjá (Yemoja) | eat crab; kill a mouse or cockroach | duck meat |
| Nanã | use metal knives | taioba, crab |
| Oxalá | eat food with dendê; drink palm wine; wear non-white clothes on Fridays |
The second column combines records from different houses and does not apply to every terreiro. The one who confirms your list is your zelador, never a web page.
The 7 most cited quizilas and what they mean
Some quizilas appear in almost every terreiro conversation and have a story behind them. These are the seven most sought after, with what the sources record.
1. Iansã: the pumpkin and the ram
The most well known quizila of Iansã is the pumpkin, and the second is the ram. The itã tells that Oyá, being pursued, was reported by a ram and hid in a pumpkin patch, and the plantation welcomed her. Out of gratitude, her children do not eat pumpkin, and the ram is removed from the plate because of the betrayal. Some houses add the stingray. The temperament and paths of her children are in children of Iansã, and what is offered to her in offering for Iansã.
2. Oxalá: the dendê, the palm wine and the white clothes
Oxalá is the orixá of white and calm, and his firmest taboo is dendê oil. Prandi also records palm wine and clothes that are not white on Fridays, his day. Therefore, Oxalá's food is made without dendê, and the child of Oxalá wears white on Friday.
3. Oxóssi: the honey
Honey is a quizila of Oxóssi, and not of Ogum, as much text repeats. The record appears both in Prandi's table and in houses of different nations. There are houses that add tangerine and certain game meats. The favor to the hunter is in offering for Oxóssi.
4. Ogum: okra and drunkenness
The quizila of Ogum most told in terreiros is okra, and some houses add mango-sword. In Prandi's table, the taboo of the children of Ogum is to get drunk. The itã that explains okra is in offering for Ogum.
5. Xangô: the dead, and not okra
Okra is the food of Xangô, the base of amalá, and therefore it does not enter his list of quizilas. The taboo recorded for the children of Xangô is contact with the dead and cemeteries, alongside dressing in red. Some houses, however, forbid the child from eating the food of the orixá himself, because it is sacred to him. Augras, cited in the Fiocruz study, calls this the prohibition of "eating from the same material that the head is made of." The rest is in children of Xangô and in egum in Candomblé.
6. Iemanjá and Oxum: the crab and the scaled fish
The children of the waters avoid water creatures. For those of Iemanjá, Prandi records the crab, and for those of Oxum, the scaled fish. In many houses, the egg is also a quizila of the children of Oxum, precisely because it is her votive food. The crab is considered by several houses as a quizila of everyone: the Fiocruz study links it to Omolu (Omulu), who in the myth was wounded by crabs in the mangrove.
7. Nanã: the metal knife
Nanã is the orixá of mud and ancestry, and her quizila is metal. Prandi records the taboo of using metal knives. In the houses that follow this rule, nothing belonging to Nanã passes through a metal blade. What this changes in the preparation is in offering for Nanã.
Types of quizila in the terreiro
Not every quizila applies to everyone. The Fiocruz study separates three types, and Prandi's table shows a fourth, that of the orixá:
- Terreiro quizila (collective): applies to all children of the house, because of the orixá or inquice that rules the terreiro. In the Angola Candomblé studied by Fiocruz, pineapple is "the greatest quizila of the terreiro," because it is the fruit that the inquice Kisimbi rejects.
- Orixá quizila: is the general list linked to each divinity, such as pumpkin for the children of Iansã or dendê for those of Oxalá.
- Personal quizila: is the one the filho de santo receives for themselves, linked to the orixá of the head and their paths. Two people of the same orixá can have different lists, and some only appear after initiation, when certain dishes begin to cause illness.
- Resguardo (temporary quizila): is valid for a marked time, after a bori, from a cleansing ebó, or during the initiation of the iaô. Understand the bori in what is bori.
What happens if a quizila is broken
Whoever breaks a quizila usually feels it in the body: malaise, nausea, allergy. The filhos de santo heard in the research speak of feeling ill, and one zelador reports that there are those who eat crab and "end up in the hospital." The most dangerous quizila, according to some houses, is the one that gives no sign at the moment.
Accidental breaking is common, especially outside the house, where one does not always know what is in the dish. The path is simple:
- Do not panic: a break by mistake does not weigh as much as a break by disrespect.
- Notify your zelador: the ialorixá or the babalorixá evaluates the situation and says what to do.
- Follow what the house indicates: it could be a ritual bath of leaves, a resguardo, or a cleansing. The one who chooses the leaf and the tempo is the zelador, because this varies from house to house.
Frequently asked questions
What does quizila mean?
In Candomblé, quizila is the ritual prohibition that the filho de santo keeps because of their orixá, whether it is food, drink, color, or attitude. In common Portuguese, quizila is antipathy, pettiness, or a fight. Both meanings come from the Kimbundu kijila, which means forbidden.
What is the quizila of Iansã?
The most well-known quizila of Iansã is pumpkin, and the second is lamb or mutton meat. According to the itã, the pumpkin hid her and the lamb denounced her. Some houses also include the stingray.
Are quizila and ewó the same thing?
They are. Quizila, or kijila, is the Bantu name, used in Angola houses. Ewó, or èèwò, is the Yoruba name, used in Ketu houses. Today quizila is the most common word in all nations.
What happens if you break a quizila?
The filho de santo usually feels it in the body, with malaise, nausea, or allergy. It is not revenge from the orixá. The correct thing to do is to notify the zelador, who indicates the ritual bath or the resguardo of your house.
How to discover my quizilas?
The general quizilas of each orixá are taught in the terreiro. Personal ones appear in the cowrie-shell divination, performed by the babalorixá or by the ialorixá, or during the initiation.
References
- Reginaldo Prandi: African gods in contemporary Brazil, with the table of taboos of the children of each orixá, Horizontes Antropológicos, 1995
- Joíse Santos and Sandra Santos: It is the orixá's quizila: experiences and dietary prohibitions in an Angola Candomblé, Revista de Alimentação e Culturas das Américas, Fiocruz, 2022
- Dicio: quizila in the Online Portuguese Dictionary
- Candomblé, A Family of Axé: the orixá's quizilas, with the myth of Iansã and the pumpkin
- Wikipedia: Iansã entry, with the pumpkin, stingray, and lamb prohibitions
