Cross Dimensions : Extended Ways to Comprehend Spaces

Countless dimensions compose the web of meanings present in understanding what a candomblé terreiro is. This web involves an intersection of power relations, territory, faith, and the constitution and preservation of memory, which have been, and continue to be, very important for the affirmation of Black identity in Brazil. For this and other reasons, the terreiro in this research assumes the complex and diverse dimension it possesses, but it is also presented as a synthesis of a way of thinking and existing in the world.

What we already know, according to studies by researchers such as Carneiro, Sodré, Albein, and Da Silveira, is that it should not be understood solely as a religious space or as a setting where the religious actions of candomblé practitioners (or filhos-de-santo) take place. The terreiro is a space-territory-place, as described by Julia Moura (2019) in her study, which proposes an analysis of the terreiro's space and its meanings within the field of Cultural Geography. She further states: “Space encompasses all dimensions of humanity and its interactions and connections. In the terreiro, these connections occur since it is a sacred and mythical space that also reproduces social, political, and economic aspects.

”The terreiro has its own socio-spatial organization that interacts with and imprints its characteristics on the urban environment, relating to it beyond the dichotomies between the sacred (temple) and the profane (city) (MOURA, 2019). It is characterized as a territory because it is a marked space within the city, as stated by Sodré (1988). According to the geographer, the candomblé terreiro can also be understood as a place, given that the relationship and feelings of the faithful with that specific location where the entities’ settlements are founded are very significant; it cannot be reproduced anywhere else without symbolic losses. The relationship of practitioners with the specific terreiro where they were initiated is also relevant, as in candomblé, from the initiation process, the filho-de-santo has an individual settlement of their orixá in the terreiro, which must be continuously re-energized (MOURA, 2019, p. 3).

In my understanding, the candomblé terreiro, in addition to the many meanings already expressed here, also possesses other dimensions related to its land, its territory. It also has other names that designate it as a space, such as roça and ilê. This meaning pertains to the very foundational constitution of candomblé in Brazil, that is, the consensus that allows for the coexistence of people, resulting in the foundation of this religion.

It is worth remembering that in Africa, the worship of orixás was conducted in various parts of the continent. Each territory had its own orixá—or ancestor to be worshipped. On the slave ship, these ethnicities were mixed to create difficulties in communication and planning for their freedom due to linguistic barriers. This disarticulation among the group of enslaved Black people caused deep wounds and is still present in our contemporary society, subjectively, and it is always a scenario in which we need to think strategically about how to break free. How to create bridges that connect this diaspora, despite our differences and distances.

I affirm, therefore, that candomblé arises from a consensus, as it was necessary for this understanding among enslaved Black people; even though they worshipped different deities, they had to unite to preserve this worship collectively. And that is where candomblé emerges.

Certainly, other issues such as the preservation of ancestral knowledge, the memory of their land left behind forcibly, and the desire to maintain a connection with their territory are also necessary alongside the spiritual and religious aspects of worshiping the orixás. 

Looking at the terreiros with the intent to recognize their richness, understanding their multiple dimensions, is to expand the ways of comprehending architecture and contribute to its preservation, as well as to our own, as part of the nature that we are.

Here, these dimensions intersect in space and are represented in the form of spiral time (shell), the house, the plants, and the planet Earth.