Culture, traditions and a little playfulness
Macumba Online
Discover Afro-Brazilian traditions and try our free Virtual Terreiro.
The Virtual Terreiro is an entertainment experience: your request becomes a fictional message in your browser, without performing any rituals. Our guides introduce the stories, names and meanings of orixás and Umbanda spirit guides.
Start here, then explore further
Guides to culture and traditions
Cosme e Damião, Ibejis and Erês
Understand their differences, the September dates, and the meaning of sweets and caruru in celebrations.
Exu as an orixá and as a spirit entity: what is the difference?
Deities, spirit entities and ritual groups: a guide to understanding these names within each tradition.
Who is Maria Padilha in Umbanda?
Pombagiras, spirit names and historical narratives, with attention to differences between terreiros.
Who is Zé Pelintra?
Explore his connections to Jurema, Umbanda and the malandro figure while respecting their distinct traditions.
How does the Virtual Terreiro work?
Choose a theme, such as love, money, protection or fictional revenge, enter a first name or nickname, and receive a playful message. It is free and available around the clock. No request is sent to a real terreiro, the name for an Afro-Brazilian religious community and its place of worship.
Umbanda and Candomblé have their own histories and practices. “Macumba” is not a direct equivalent of “witchcraft” or a name for every Afro-Brazilian religion. Start with what macumba means, Umbanda’s spirit guides and the guide to orixás (orishas).
What you can explore
- Virtual Terreiro: a free fictional experience, with playful messages created in your browser.
- Orishas (orixás): an introduction to these divinities, their associations, colors and greetings.
- Umbanda spirit guides: pretos-velhos, caboclos, exus, pombagiras and other entidades, explained in context.
- History: the resilience and development of Afro-Brazilian religions.
- Glossary: cultural explanations of terms from axé to jogo de búzios.
Explore Macumba Online
Try the Virtual Terreiro, meet the orixás and learn about the history of Afro-Brazilian religions.
Create a fictional request and receive a humorous message in your browser. Free entertainment, without a spiritual consultation or real ritual.
Meet Exu, Iemanjá, Oxum, Xangô, Ogum and other orixás through their stories, associations, colors and greetings, from the sea and thunder to iron and crossroads.
Pretos-velhos, caboclos, crianças, exus, pombagiras and more. Understand these spirit guides, how they differ from orixás and the themes associated with their lines of work.
Learn how religions of African origin endured slavery and persecution and became part of Brazil’s cultural heritage. Explore Candomblé, Umbanda, Tambor de Mina and traditions too often overlooked.