ÍLẸ̀KẸ̀S

INFOMEMORY AND IDENTITY IN CANDOMBLÉ

Abstract

The ílẹ̀kẹ̀s used in Candomblé, also known sacred necklaces or strings of beads, are sacred artifacts whose representation symbolically points out information about the experience of the subjects of this religious tradition originating in Africa. The present study aims to analyze the ílẹ̀kẹ̀s, sacred necklaces, strings of beads, in Candomblé, as infomemorial artifacts that use mnemotechnics, explaining an identity synthesis of the practitioners of this religiosity. Memory as a mechanism for preserving and perpetuating traditional ancestral knowledge in this religiosity allows, through magical-religious foundations, to analyze information and its logic of meaning in the liturgical and social use of these artifacts. With an exploratory qualitative approach, in the production of data, a bibliographical research was carried out, followed by interviews with four member from Candomblé with roots in Angola, Ketu. The results presented indicate that the ílẹ̀kẹ̀s, as symbols, carry multiple information and meanings, linked to a space and social context, revealing a religious identity.  It is concluded that the ílẹ̀kẹ̀s strands of beads are the only sacred symbols that accompany social subjects from their insertion into Candomblé until their death, marking the dynamic connection between the human and the divine, between life and death.