Shrines, substances, and miracles in Afro-Brazilian Candomblé

This paper discusses the relationship between people and shrines in the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé. One of its main points is that shrines cannot be described solely as a particular instance or token of a general formula or type. The power of the shrine is also partially the result of extraordinary and unexpected events of cure and personal formation and transformation, often defined as 'miracles' that bond together shrines and their caretakers. Through these events, new places, objects and substances are recognized as or incorporated into shrines. In other words, the power of the Candomblé shrine is also a result of its historicity.