0872-3419 0872-3419 S0872-34192013000200009 Italy 00 12 2013 00 12 2013 26 189 200 FORUM

The Vale do Amanhecer. Healing and spiritualism in a globalized Brazilian new religious movement

O Vale do Amanhecer. Cura e espiritualismo num novo movimento religioso brasileiro globalizado

Le Vale do Amanhecer. Guérison et spiritualisme dans un nouveau mouvement religieux brésilien globalisé

El Vale do Amanhecer. Curación y espiritualismo en un nuevo movimiento religioso brasileño globalizado

Massimo Introvigne1

Center for Studies on New Religions

 

ABSTRACT
In 2011, the author conducted fieldwork at the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of Dawn), an incorporated township located four miles near Planaltina, one of the so called satellite towns of the Brazilian capital Brasilia and the center of the largest Brazilian new religious movement, the Spiritualist Christian Order (Ordem Espiritualista Crista, OEC). OEC, founded by Neiva Chaves Zelaya (1925-1985), know to her followers as Tia Neiva (Aunt Neiva), has currently some 500,000 members and 680 temples in Brazil, and several thousand abroad. The group is an offshoot of Kardecist Spiritualism/Spiritism, which is quite well-represented in Brazil, and among the spirits channeled by the OEC mediums are spiritual doctors, gypsies, and African American slaves. Several thousand OEC mediums operate in the Vale do Amanhecer, and they have attracted there millions of pilgrims, most of them seeking healing from the spirits.

Keywords: Vale do Amanhecer; Ordem Espiritualista Crista; Neiva Chaves Zelaya (Tia Neiva); New religious movements.

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RESUMO
Em 2011, o autor realizou trabalho de campo no Vale do Amanhecer, municipio localizado a 6 quil6metros de Planaltina, uma das chamadas cidades-satelites de Brasilia, e o centro do maior novo movimento religioso brasileiro, a Ordem Espiritualista Crista (OEC). A EC, fundada por Neiva Chaves Zelaya (1925-1985), conhecida entre os seus seguidores como Tia Neiva, tern atualmente cerca de 500 mil membros e 680 templos no Brasil, e varios milhares no estrangeiro. 0 grupo e urn desdobramento do Espiritualismo/Espiritismo Kardecista, o qual esta muito bern representado no Brasil, e entre os espiritos canalizados pelos mediuns da OEC estao medicos espirituais, ciganos e escravos afro-americanos. Varios milhares de mediuns da OEC actuam no Vale do Amanhecer, atraindo ao local milhoes de peregrinos, a maioria deles em busca de uma cura pelos espiritos.

Palavras-chave: Vale do Amanhecer; Ordem Espiritualista Crista; Neiva Chaves Zelaya (Tia Neiva); Novos movimentos religiosos.

 

RESUMÉ
En 2011, l’auteur réalisa une enquête de terrain chez le Vale do Amanhecer (Vallée de l’Aurore), une petite ville à six kilomètres de Planaltina, une des “villes satellites” de la capitale brésilienne Brasilia, et le centre du plus grand nouveau mouvement religieux brésilien, l’Ordre Spiritualiste Chrétien (Ordem Espiritualista Cristã, OEC). L’OEC, fondé par Neiva Chaves Zelaya (1925-1985), que ses disciples appellent Tia Neiva (Tante Neiva) compte aujourd’hui quelques 500.000 membres et 680 temples au Brésil, et plusieurs milliers dans des autres pays. Le mouvement est une dérivation du spiritisme kardéciste, qui a toujours été très présent au Brésil, et parmi les esprits évoqués par les médiums de l’OEC il y a des “docteurs spirites”, des tziganes, et des esclaves afro-américains. Plusieurs milliers de médiums de l’OEC “travaillent” au Vale do Amanhecer, où ils reçoivent des millions de pèlerins, qui cherchent surtout une guérison apportée par les esprits.

Mots-clés: Vale do Amanhecer; Ordem Espiritualista Cristã; Neiva Chaves Zelaya (Tia Neiva); Nouveaux mouvements religieux.

 

RESUMEN
En 2011, el autor realizó trabajo de campo en el Vale do Amanhecer, un pequeño pueblo a seis kilómetros de Planaltina, llame a una de las ciudades satélite de Brasilia, y el centro del nuevo movimiento religioso más grande de Brasil, la Orden Espiritual Cristiana (OEC). La OEC, fundada por Neiva Chaves Zelaya (1925-1985), conocido entre sus seguidores como Tía Neiva, en la actualidad cuenta con cerca de 500.000 miembros y 680 templos en Brasil y varios millares en el extranjero. El grupo es una rama del Espiritualismo/Espiritismo Kardecista, que está muy bien representado en el Brasil, y entre los espíritus canalizados por los médiuns de OEC se encuentran doctores espirituales, gitanos y esclavos afroamericanos. Varios millares de médiuns de OEC “trabajan” en el Vale do Amanhecer, atrayendo millones de peregrinos al sitio, la mayoría de ellos en busca de una cura por espíritus.

Palabras clave: Vale do Amanhecer; Orden Espiritual Cristiana; Neiva Chaves Zelaya (Tía Neiva); Nuevos movimientos religiosos.

 

]]> In June 2011, I visited the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of Dawn), an incorporated township located four miles near Planaltina, one of the so called satellite towns of the Brazilian capital Brasilia, and the center of the largest Brazilian new religious movement, the Spiritualist Christian Order (Ordem Espiritualista Cristã, OEC). OEC has currently some 500,000 members and 680 temples in Brazil, and several thousand abroad, where temples are maintained in Bolivia (2), Ecuador, Uruguay, the United States, Portugal (2), Germany, and Japan. 150,000 Brazilian members live in the Federal District, and the Vale has a population of 20,000, although it now also hosts Catholic and Pentecostal families. I also spent time in Planaltina, where I counted some 30 Pentecostal houses of worship – there are probably more. I was told by a Catholic priest in Brasilia that in Planaltina Pentecostals do outnumber Catholics in term of Sunday practice, although the majority of the population has still been baptized in the Catholic Church.
Neiva Chaves Zelaya (1925-1985), know to her followers as Tia Neiva (Aunt Neiva), was born in Propriá (Sergipe) on October 30, 1925 and received no formal ]]> The spirit ordered his followers to go live communally in the Serra de Ouro, sixty miles from Brasilia. The commune was however plagued by Neiva's frequent ]]> In the meantime, in 1965 in Taguatinga, Neiva had met Mário Sassi (1921- 1994), a PR officer for the University of Brasilia and a leader of the Catholic left-wing movement JOC (Catholic Youth Workers). Eventually, Sassi left his wife, a sociologist, five children and his job, and went to live with Neiva in the Vale (the two could not marry, since Brazil at that time had no divorce law). Sassi, a city intellectual, became the twin leader of the Vale, and elaborated its complex doctrine based on Neiva's visions. He became also the administrative leader, and his very effective leadership assured the growth of the Vale community from a few hundred to several thousand members when Neiva ]]> The Vale township appears to be poor, although not very poor by Brazilian standards. Most houses appear simple but decent, and there are no favelas. The visitor cannot but notice that a good part of the population wear quite fancy dresses, which are typical of the OEC and make it a well photographed ]]> I was able to attend two rituals in the Estrela Candente and to interview several members including one of the most senior “doutrinadores” leading the rite. Although I did explain that I was already familiar with the main beliefs and practices of the OEC based on its literature, he insisted and explained them from scratch. He started from the Estrela Candente ritual, which is called a “work of disintegration” on behalf of humanity as a whole. Negative energies are disintegrated and imperfect spirits who harass the living are helped to complete their passage to the higher spheres of the spiritual kingdom. The Estrela Candente is an impressive complex, centered on an artificial lake built by the OEC in the shape of a six-point star with the water of the small ]]> The “doutrinador” insisted on the importance of the “esquifes” for the work of disintegration. These are 108 large parallelepipeds, each surrounded by a cylinder. Half of these are in blue and half in yellow. Although their ensemble strangely resembles the modernistic art prevailing in Brasilia, my informant insisted that they are of the utmost importance for first calling and then disintegrating negative energies, and for helping wandering spirits in their transition to the light.
There are different Estrela Candente rituals. I saw two of them, including the loud singing of hymns and collective ritual movements, all aimed at the work of disintegration. Around the lake there are also photographs of the founders (including Sassi) and a small pyramid, where visitors are welcome except ]]> Before asking what exactly a “doutrinador” is, however, the casual visitor is likely to be impressed by the variety of fancy dresses. They are also comparatively expensive, which explains why the very poor are rare among residing members, since they are expected to pay for them. Many members also bring an arrow spear, a symbol of the main spiritual entity still in touch with the OEG, the same Pai Seta Branca (Father White Arrow) which was channeled by Neiva at the beginning of her career as a medium (and ever since), who is now said to have been Saint Francis of Assisi in an earlier incarnation and to have later reincarnated as a warrior cacique along Lake Titicaca.
]]> My informants insisted unanimously that everybody is a natural medium and that I, too, am without doubt a medium, even if I do not realize it. Not ]]> It is also recommended that aparás do not marry another apará but a doutrinador, since in a family emergence of a spontaneous outburst of spirits at least one doutrinador will be needed to control them.
]]> The second category of benign spirits includes the caboclos, i.e. Native Brazilians and other Native Americans of old, another recurring group of spirits in Umbanda. Among these are the caboclos of Pai Seta Branca's old tribe. Some of them live in the spirit world, while others have reincarnated twice, first ]]> There are two additional categories of spirits of light. One includes spiritual doctors, who may or may not have physically incarnated on Earth. Some of their names, such as “Dr. Fritz” or “Dr. Ralph”, recur in other Brazilian Spiritist movements. The other group includes extraterrestrials, particularly those of a planet called Capela, a name also found in the UFO cults literature.
Finally, there are benign spirits outside these categories. They include Mãe Yara, a protector for the whole movement, who incarnated as St. Clare of Assisi, and the often depicted princesses: the white Janaina and the dark-skinned Jurema, Janara, Jandaia and Iracema. The four black princesses were ]]> In order to understand how the spirits work, one need to visit the temple, a large construction divided into three main areas known as castles, with lateral spaces devoted to preparation for the mediums and instruction. Outside the temple, there is a monument to Pai Seta Branca, a six-pointed star with an arrow. I was offered a detailed tour with rich explanations on the doctrine by an apará, which confirms that there are exceptions to the general rule that those conversant with doctrinal matters are normally the doutrinadores only. While the third area is reserved for curing the most serious illnesses, and a big statue of Pai Seta Branca and a large fresco of Jesus both catch the attention, it is in the first two castles that I saw more action. “Clients” are attended by a couple including an apará and a doutrinador (sometime, they are husband and wife).
]]> The client receives common sense advise, and the OEC emphasizes that in case of physical illnesses is always counseled to see also an “earthly” doctor and follow the corresponding prescriptions. But to the client it is also normally suggested to come again – one session is rarely enough to solve the problem ]]> The fact that donations by clients are neither solicited nor accepted, and that clients are advised to also cooperate with medical doctors, has largely shielded the OEC from the secular criticism directed at other spiritual healing groups in Brazil. Criticism by Christian churches is, however, a different matter. The vitriolic criticism of the Catholic Church typical of other Brazilian Spiritist movements is not apparent in the Vale. One informant insisted that Pope John Paul II studied the doctrine for fourteen years, after which he received Tia Neiva and gave her his blessing, a circumstance which is ]]> I have gathered different opinions from Catholic priests in Brasilia about the Vale. Some believe it will disappear after Neiva's death, an opinion apparently not supported by the movement's numbers, at least so far. Others think that the Vale and similar movements, while obviously not orthodox from a Catholic point of view, should be considered a logical consequence of the Brazilian Church's own mistakes. An excessive focus on social action led many of those seeking mysticism and otherworldly spirituality either to Spiritist groups such as the OEC or to the Pentecostals.
It is precisely the Pentecostals which appears to be the harshest critics of the Vale. Planaltina, where Tia Neiva's grave is in the local cemetery – although well attended, it is not a specially important place of pilgrimage for a movement which does not regard bodies as very important –, is now a hotbed of Pentecostal activities. Some ministers would denounce Neiva as a witch and the Vale's work as the work of the devil. What they, however, do not ]]>

 

 

 

 

 

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Notas

1Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR) (Turin, Italy). Direct correspondence to: Massimo Introvigne I CESNUR I Via Confienza, 19 110121 Torino I Italy. E-mail: maxintrovigne@gmail.com

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