Zélio de Moraes was the medium from São Gonçalo (RJ) whom tradition links to the foundation of Umbanda in 1908 [C8, C12]. He was born in April 1891 and died on October 3, 1975 [D1, C27]. He founded the Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Piedade, which presents itself as the oldest functioning Umbanda center.
Who was Zélio de Moraes
Zélio Fernandino de Moraes was from a traditional and Catholic family in São Gonçalo [D1, C32]. He was a medium of the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas for almost seven decades, founded tents, was a pharmacist, and a city councilor [C13, D1, D2].
Name: Zélio Fernandino de Moraes | Birth: April 1891, São Gonçalo (RJ) | Death: October 3, 1975 | Wife: Maria Isabel | Daughters: Zélia and Zilméia | Profession: pharmacist | Home: Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Piedade
The most cited birth date is April 10, 1891. The National Library History Journal confirms the month: he turned 17 in April 1908. Regarding the place of death, sources diverge. The journal says Cachoeiras de Macacu, and Wikipedia says Niterói [D1, C27].
The family and the illness of 1908
In 1908, at age 17, Zélio was preparing for the Naval School exams when a paralysis interrupted his plans [D1, C28]. From October, according to the National Library journal, he began to speak nonsensical words and have visions. The family, "very Catholic," turned to the priests.
The versions of the illness vary. Researcher Bruno Faria Rohde notes that some speak of paralysis and others of seizures similar to epilepsy, and that doctors were unable to cure him.
According to tradition, his family took him to a spiritist session in Niterói on November 15, 1908. There, the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas manifested, announcing a new cult. The next day, at Zélio's house in Neves, the Tenda da Piedade was born. This date is the origin of the Day of Umbanda. Who is the guide, where the name comes from, and what is his line can be found in Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas.
Pharmacist and councilman in São Gonçalo
Outside the terreiro, Zélio had a profession and a public life. He was a pharmacist at Pharmácia Nossa Senhora da Piedade, on Rua Floriano Peixoto, in Neves, the same street where he lived for a long time [D2, C29]. The National Library magazine also describes him as a merchant.
In politics, he was a councilman in São Gonçalo. He was elected in 1924 and reelected in 1927, when his colleagues chose him as secretary of the Chamber. The Municipal Chamber of São Gonçalo itself records the mandate, and a 1929 newspaper presented him again as a candidate at age 38.
The Tenda remembers that his work in the Chamber was focused on free public schools. He himself created a free primary school at his spiritist center for the children of Neves.
The tents that he founded
The first was the Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Piedade, founded on November 16, 1908, according to the house [C8, C12]. Others followed, and here the sources give different numbers.
- In 1933, Leal de Souza, who presided over one of them, lists four tents: the Piedade, "the mother house," in Neves, and those of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, São Pedro, and Nossa Senhora da Guia, in Rio.
- By the Tenda, there were seven daughter tents, the first in 1918: Conceição, Guia, Saint Barbara, São Pedro, Saint George, São Jerônimo, and Oxalá (Obatala).
- According to the researcher José Henrique Motta de Oliveira, from UFRRJ, "there are no reliable records" of all the dates. According to him, the first is from 1918 and the last from 1935.
According to Oliveira, even the leaders of the new houses "were chosen by the spirit guide". In 1939, the Federação Espírita de Umbanda was also born, today UEUB, which presents itself as created by the guidance of the Caboclo. In 1954, the UEUB gave the Tenda da Piedade the diploma of "affiliated number one".
Pai Antônio's Cabana and the final years
In the 1950s, Zélio founded the Cabana de Pai Antônio, in Boca do Mato, Cachoeiras de Macacu (RJ). A 1957 newspaper reported the foundation, according to the Tenda. The name is that of the preto-velho who worked with him since the early days, already described by Leal de Souza in 1933. Who the pretos-velhos are is in pretos-velhos in umbanda.
In 1963, Zélio passed the direction of the Tenda to his daughters, Zélia and Zilméia, and went to live in Cachoeiras de Macacu [D1, D2]. In the Cabana and later at home, according to the Tenda, he continued to attend those who sought him until he died in 1975.
The phrase he asked to be remembered was kept by the house:
"Zélio asked us to remember that Umbanda is the manifestation of the spirit for charity and that humility is the most sublime form of practicing the Gospel of Christ." (Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Piedade)
From the daughter to the great-grandson
The direction of the Tenda remained in the family. First Zélia de Moraes Lacerda, then Zilméia de Moraes Cunha, then the granddaughter Lygia Maria Marinho da Cunha. Today the house is directed by the great-grandson, Leonardo Cunha. The headquarters is the Cabana de Pai Antônio, and all previous headquarters, including the first one, were demolished. The Neves house began to be torn down in 2011.
The rite follows Zélio's matrix: without atabaque, clapping, or dancing, with the mediums in white and barefoot. In other houses, there are terreiros with Zélio's photograph on the congá, next to the saints and the orixás (orishas).
What is document and what is account in Zélio's history
Zélio's civil life has documents: Chamber, pharmacy, dates [D1, D2]. Religious life also has period records. In 1932 and 1933, the journalist Leal de Souza wrote about the Caboclo, the Tenda da Piedade, and the daughter tents [C13, C14].
The 1908 scene, with all the details, is another thing. There is no session minutes, and the federation sessions did not generate minutes. The Umbanda practitioner journalist Lilia Ribeiro recorded an interview with Zélio in 1961. The publication of the history in the bulletin is dated 1961 by the BBC and 1971 by a dissertation from CEFET/RJ [C15, D4]. In 1972, an Umbanda magazine published the report "I founded Umbanda".
Researchers diverge on his role. Anthropologist Diana Brown places the emergence of Umbanda in the 1920s. Even so, she recognizes that Zélio's center and those of his companions were the first she found claiming to be Umbanda. Rohde, a researcher and Umbanda practitioner, does not rule out the value of the account, because it marks an important period of the religion. The various forms of Umbanda that came later are in branches of Umbanda.
His daughter Zilméia insisted on one point: the father "had never been Kardecist", and the family "was traditionally Catholic".
Frequently asked questions
Who was Zélio Fernandino de Moraes?
He was the medium of the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas and the founder of the Tenda Espírita Nossa Senhora da Piedade, in São Gonçalo (RJ). Tradition links this house to the birth of Umbanda, in 1908. Outside the terreiro, he was a pharmacist in Neves and a councilman in São Gonçalo, elected in 1924 and re-elected in 1927.
When was Zélio de Moraes born and when did he die?
He was born in April 1891, in São Gonçalo (RJ); the most cited date is April 10. He died on October 3, 1975, at the age of 84. The location of death varies: the Revista de História da Biblioteca Nacional says Cachoeiras de Macacu, and Wikipedia says Niterói.
Did Zélio de Moraes found Umbanda?
According to tradition, Umbanda was announced by the Caboclo das Sete Encruzilhadas through him, in 1908. Researchers treat the episode as a founding account: the religion formed over decades. Diana Brown recognizes that the house of Zélio and those of his companions were the first to call themselves Umbanda.
Was Zélio de Moraes rich?
Sources do not speak of wealth. They describe a traditional family from São Gonçalo and a middle-class man, a pharmacist, with a pharmacy on the street where he lived, in Neves. He was also a councilman for two terms and created a free primary school at his spiritist center.
References
- NUNES, Jorge Cesar Pereira. Revista de História da Biblioteca Nacional, 2008. The father of Umbanda
- TARDOCK, Luciano. Câmara Municipal de São Gonçalo, 2019. São Gonçalo: spirituality and politics
- ROHDE, Bruno Faria. REVER (PUC-SP), 2009. Umbanda, a religion that was not born
