African Așo in Brazilian Candomblés

This article seeks to understand the connection between the afrobrazilian candomblé religion and its identity through the ritual gar-ments imported from African fabrics. Considering this, we will analyse the historical processes that brought the first African fabrics to Brazil since the eighteenth century, and of industrial fabrics’ intense commercial route. The research was conducted by analysing these textiles from their handicraft methods, industrial beginnings, and trade route with Brazil, which intensified in the nineteenth century by the Afro-religious trade. The specific fabrics to be analysed are: Așo ̨ Oké, Wax Print and Adire. In addition to the bibliography, field research was carried out in candomblé temples and clothing markets. Photographs and field research demonstrate the presence of some of these fabrics in candomblé, especially in the post-1980s (re)-Africanization movement, bringing aesthetic elements from African cultures (mainly Yorùbá), instead of other fabrics. This presentation will help us understand why some striking fabrics in African cultures are neglected in candomblé, due to the historical process of this liturgical trade.