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CÍRCULO - Decolonial resistance, priestessing, chanting and women’s drumming -2025

Tulipa’s Society Amsterdam and Teatro Munganga welcome you to a series of traditional singing and drumming workshops, alongside gatherings dedicated to sharing knowledge about Brazilian Candomblé and the tradition of priestesses.

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Dear community of singers, artists, activists, and all those who support the preservation of diverse knowledge systems on the planet,

We invite you to join our 2025 CÍRCULO—a space for traditional chanting and drumming workshops, community gatherings, and cultural exchange. Throughout April and May in Amsterdam, we will celebrate the long lineage of priestesses who have preserved oral and musical traditions, deeply tied to decolonial struggle and the cosmological permanence of ancestral knowledge in resistance to cultural domination.

We are deeply grateful for last year’s gatherings and warmly welcome 2024 participants to return and feel at home with us once again. Beyond the traditions themselves, this program is about building a support network, receiving wisdom from elders and ancestors, and expanding care and joy within a growing community. We encourage you to participate, contribute, and invite others to join.

We are also excited to announce that this year’s program will extend to Casa das Minas Nagô in Maranhão, Brazil, where we will continue this journey.

Who is this for?

This series is centered on immigrant women, women of color and non-binary people. However, everyone is welcome to participate taking care of the focus of the space. If you are unsure whether this space is for you or how to participate, please reach out!

About Tulipa’s Society

Housed at Teatro Munganga, Tulipa’s Society honors Zahar—a Vungira in the Brazilian Candomblé tradition. It is inspired by Sociedade das Tulipas, a sisterhood based at Redandá Candomblé House in Cipó-Guaçú, São Paulo, which has been organizing beneficent events for hospitals treating Wildfire disease and other causes since 1970.

More Info & Contact:

🔗 Info: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/ 🎟️ Tickets https://munganga.nl/ 📧 Contact: dimarco.thais@gmail.com | joana.faggin@gmail.com

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WORKSHOP: Priestessing, Drumming and Chanting (Brazilian Candomblé - Caixeiras do Divino)

📅 23rd April (Wednesday)

📅 29th April (Tuesday) 

📅 06th May (Tuesday)

📅 13rd May (Tuesday) 

 🕖 18H — 21H  

📍 Theater Munganga

We will practice Caixa do Divino*—Brazil’s only drumming tradition exclusively led by women. Rooted in Candomblé Houses and Maroon Communities, this tradition is part of the Orixá Oxalá celebrations, an ancient force of nature. The Caixeiras (priestesses) sing and praise the prophecy:

✨ The Earth will know one hundred years of peace, under the rule of children. ✨

Caixa do Divino chantings are slow, steady litanies accompanied by drumming. You will be encouraged to learn both playing and singing simultaneously. The chanting is in Brazilian Portuguese, incorporating words and concepts from Brazilian Creole dialects influenced by Yorubá, Kimbundu, and native languages spoken in Candomblé houses and native communities.

Workshop Facilitator

The workshop will be led by Mameto Kaloyá, a non-binary, queer Roma diasporic descendant born into the Candomblé tradition (Maroon communities and houses). Kaloyá holds the title of Egbomi (poorly translated as ‘young priestess’) in the Candomblé House of Redandá (Cipó-Guaçu, Brazil). From an early age, they inherited multiple drumming and chanting practices from elders and learned the Caixa do Divino from the Caixeiras of the Fanti Ashanti House. Kaloyá is also a long-time participant in the Festa do Divino - Associação Cachuera! and an apprentice of Master Daniel Reverendo, Mother Gunzolande, and other traditional masters.

Workshop Details

💰 Donation: €12 per session (reductions/exceptions available—please reach out) 🗣 Languages: Brazilian Portuguese & English (chanting in Brazilian popular language) ✅ Attendance: No fixed commitment—join as many sessions as you like.

🔸 This space centers immigrant women, women of color and non-binary people. However, everyone is welcome to participate taking care of the focus of the space. 🔹 Men are welcome as observers but may not chant or play the drums.

If you're unsure whether this space is for you or how to participate, feel free to contact us!

About the Event: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/

Buy Tickets at  https://munganga.nl/Get in touch: dimarco.thais@gmail.com and joana.faggin@gmail.com

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TAROT READING AND DIVINATION CEREMONY

Public reading ceremony , talk, Flamenco and food - Candomblé and Roma traditions

 📅 15th May  🕖 19H — 22H  📍 Theater Munganga

For the third time at Munganga , Mameto Kaloyá will lead a public oracle session, honoring the Roma tradition of public divination. The ceremony begins with anonymous questions placed into a shared vessel and drawn at random. These can be about any subject. After that, three participants will be invited to ask direct questions to the oracle.

Luna (formerly Delphine Bedel) — artist, coach, founder of Divine by Design, and member of the Tulip Society — will share reflections on the symbols of the Tarot de Marseille, a sacred optical art dating back to the 14th century. Luna learned tarot reading with master Alejandro Jodorowsky in Paris.

The evening will close with a Flamenco performance featuring singer Falu de Cádiz and dancer Conchita Boon. Through a continuous and intense interplay of fire and silence, voice and rhythm, they tell stories of life in all its facets.

We’ll enjoy delicious Falafel Bahiano by Maoli San - Sabô - Cousine with flavour from Bahia , and drink “Sangria,” a Roma-Afro-Brazilian drink.

The session is guided by Mameto Kaloyá, a non-binary, queer descendant of the Roma diaspora, born into the Candomblé tradition (Maroon communities and houses in Brazil). Kaloyá is an Egbomi (often translated as “young priestess”) of the House of Redandá (Cipó-Guaçu, Brazil), and works with various card systems and the Jogo de Búzios (cowrie shell oracle). 

🍲 The evening will also offer food, space for conversation, and time to connect in community.

Event Details 💰 Entrance: €12 (reductions available — please contact us) 🗣 Languages: Brazilian Portuguese, English, Dutch Join us for a night of learning, ceremony, and community. Everyone is welcome!

🔗 Info: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/ 🎟️ Tickets https://munganga.nl/ 📧 Contact: dimarco.thais@gmail.com | joana.faggin@gmail.com

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Celebration: Brazilian Candomblé for Beginners

Talk, Music Concert, Ceremony and Food

 📅 17th May 🕖 17H — 22H 📍 Theater Munganga

This special event will celebrate Orixá Oxalá, an ancient force of nature. Through the priestesses, Oxalá praises the prophecy: ✨ The world will one day know one hundred years of peace, under the rule of children. ✨

The event will begin at 17:00 with the ceremony Alvorada das Caixeiras featuring the Tulip Society, along with participants from the Caixa do Divino Workshops.

Later, we will have the online presence of Mother Ekedi Gunzolande, a significant Mãe Criadeira in Brazilian Candomblé. This title refers to her responsibility for guiding the education of initiates in how to relate to Orixás and ancestors. Mother Gunzo will answer questions from the audience on how to communicate with, care for, and behave towards ancestry according to tradition. She is also a crucial figure in advancing the rights of LGBTQIA+ people within the Candomblé community in São Paulo.

The evening will conclude with a musical concert featuring Brazilian percussionist Simone Soul, who will perform her own compositions inspired by traditional Brazilian and world music. Simone blends African, Indigenous, and Balkan rhythms with melodies, creating a unique "Percuteria" urban setup—a mix of drums, percussion, and objects to create a wide range of sounds. She will be joined by singer Maria Preá (Laetícia). Maria Preá, a woman from Maranhão, cabocla, plural, is from "there and here," from the place where art lives. With two decades of music experience, she signed her first album, Avesso (2007), which was nominated for the Brazilian Music Award (2008). Her voice transforms and transports us to her Maria of struggle.

The evening will also feature a delicious Bahian Curry, prepared by Maeli San and her company Sabo – Brazilian Cuisine with the Flavor of Bahia. We will also eat the delicious Divino Cake by Curumim Cakes.

This gathering is inspired by the Festa do Divino, a month-long ceremony found in Candomblé Houses and Maroon Communities throughout Brazil. It offers a participatory approach to fostering coexistence, building community, and reconnecting with ancestry and diaspora.

The event will be hosted by Tulipa’s Society, an organization that honors Zahar—a Vungira in the Brazilian Candomblé tradition. The society is inspired by Sociedade das Tulipas, a sisterhood based at Redandá Candomblé House in Cipó-Guaçu, São Paulo, which has organized charitable events for hospitals treating Wildfire disease and other causes since 1970.

Event Details

💰 Entrance: €15 (reductions available—please contact us) 🗣 Languages: Brazilian Portuguese, English, Dutch

Join us for a day of learning, ceremony, and community. Everyone is welcome!

About the Event: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/

Buy Tickets at  https://munganga.nl/

Get in touch: dimarco.thais@gmail.com and joana.faggin@gmail.com

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Caixeiras do Divino: A Tradition of Resistance and Sisterhood

Caixeiras do Divino is the only exclusively women-led drumming and singing tradition in Brazil, deeply embedded in the Afro-Indigenous and Maroon cultural landscapes. Originating from the intersection of West and Central African diasporas, Indigenous cosmologies, and Iberian Catholic influences, this tradition is part of the festivities honoring Oxalá, a spiritual force associated with wisdom and peace. Central to its mythology is the prophecy that the Earth will experience 100 years of peace under the rule of children—a vision never before realized in human history.

The historical roots of Caixeiras do Divino trace back to the Azores archipelago, a key transatlantic hub where African, Indigenous, and Asian influences converged due to forced migration and colonial trade routes. The tradition found fertile ground in Brazil through the Benedito Brotherhoods—Maroon (Quilombola) religious and social organizations that provided structure and resistance against colonial oppression. These brotherhoods, still active today, played a vital role in preserving African and Indigenous spiritual practices within a syncretic framework.

In Maranhão, within the Mina communities—descendants of political exiles from the Dahomey Kingdom (modern-day Benin)—Caixeiras do Divino took on a distinct matriarchal form. Unlike most ritual drumming traditions, which are male-dominated, this practice is exclusively led by women. They serve as the spiritual and musical authorities, conducting ceremonies that involve intricate drumming patterns, litanies, and extended singing sessions. The ritual unfolds over several weeks, featuring the symbolic raising of flags representing hope, faith, and charity, and honoring the child emperor and empress in a communal celebration of collective memory and resistance.

Caixeiras do Divino in Amsterdam: Sustaining Diasporic Traditions in a Transnational Context

Brazil’s history of forced migration, resistance, and cultural blending continues to resonate within contemporary diasporic communities. Amsterdam, home to a significant population of Lusophone immigrants, where more attention to this community presence is required.  Many Brazilian women in the Netherlands, especially those in precarious legal and social conditions, face systemic invisibility. The Caixeiras do Divino collective in Amsterdam creates a platform for cultural identity, fostering sisterhood, and resisting the erasure of non-European diasporic narratives.

Under the leadership of Mameto Kaloyá—a Roma descendant and Candomblé priestess who has inherited and preserved multiple drumming traditions—the collective in Amsterdam not only practices and shares the ritual but also explores its intersections with migration, queer-feminism, and anti-colonial resistance.

Beyond its musical and spiritual dimensions, Caixeiras do Divino serves as a living archive of oral histories, social struggles, and intergenerational knowledge transmission. By sustaining and adapting this tradition in a transnational context, the group challenges established narratives and stereotypes, and reaffirms the role of women as cultural and spiritual leaders.

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Workshop traditional chanting and drumming - 2024 - Introduction

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Unforgettable moments at CÍRCULO 2024

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DIVINA NGOMA with Marcela Aracati, Beth Fadel, Tarim Flach and Ebomi Kaloyá

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Candomblé for Beginners

with Mother Gunzolande, Prof. Ubiracy, Acarajé da Lilly and others!

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Some participants of the workshop series Caixa do Divino at Círculo 2024!

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CÍRCULO - Decolonial resistance, priestessing, chanting and women’s drumming

Dear community of singers, artists, activists and those who support the continuation of different forms of knowledge on the planet, 

Tulipa's Society Amsterdam and Teatro Munganga invite you to join our 2024 CÍRCULO of traditional chanting and drumming workshops, community gatherings and exchanges. Throughout the month of June, we will celebrate the long lineage of priestesses carrying out oral and music traditions connected to decolonial struggle and cosmological permanence of ancient forms of knowledge in opposition to cultural domination. 

The events are sponsored by Spark Fund Mama Cash, which supports women, girls, and trans and intersex people in their fight for their rights, and AFK - Amsterdam Fund for the Arts.

Please note: the series is centered on non-European immigrant women, and non-binary people, but everyone is welcome to join the events and support the community. If you are ever in doubt if this space is for you or how to participate, feel free to contact us!

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Workshops Caixeiras do Divino

Dates: 05, 12, 19, 26 June, 01 and 03 July (six meetings) 

18:30 - 21:30

We will practice Caixa do Divino* which is the only drumming tradition exclusively led by women in Brazil and exists in the context of Candomblé Houses and Maroon Communities as part of the celebrations of the Orixá Oxalá, an ancient force of nature. The priestesses, Caixeiras, sing and praise the prophecy that The Earth will know one hundred years of peace, under the rule of children.  In the last week we will also practice Jongo, a chanting and drumming form demanding freedom for people under enslavement. 

The workshop will be given by Mameto Kaloyá, a non-binary queer Roma diasporic descendent born within the context of Candomblé (Maroon communities and houses) who holds the title of Egbomi (poorly translated as young priestess) in the traditional community and Candomblé House of Redandá (Cipó-Guaçu- Brazil). Kaloyá has been, since an early age, inheriting multiple drumming and chanting practices from elders, and has learned from  Caixeiras of the Fanti Ashanti House how to play and sing the “Caixa do Divino”. They are a long-time participant in the Festa do Divino held by Associação Cachuera!. Kaloyá will be joined by Marcela Varconte, black maroon descendant, researcher and chanter of the tradition of Jongo and part of Grupo Cachuera! The two apprenticed together under Master Daniel Reverendo. 

*Caixa do Divino chantings are slow and steady litanies accompanied by drumming. You will be encouraged to learn how to play and sing simultaneously. Chanting happens in Brazilian Portuguese, with words and concepts from Brazilian creole dialects influenced by Yorubá, Kimbundo, and native languages spoken in Candomblé houses and native communities.

Donation: 10 euros per workshop. Exceptions/reductions possible - please get in touch

Language: The workshop is held in Brazilian and English, but chantings are in popular Brazilian Language

No attendance requirements: you can join how many meetings you can/want . 

People identifying as male are welcome to watch the workshop but can’t chant/play the drums.

Info: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/

Tickets: https://munganga.nl/

Or directly with the organizers

Contact: dimarco.thais@gmail.com and joana.faggin@gmail.com

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Brazilian Candomblé for beginners  Date: 13th  June - Thursday 19h - 22h talk+oracle+performance+food

In this event, we will talk with Mother Gunzolandê (online), an important "Mãe Criadeira" (mother responsible for the education and initiation of newborns)  in the Redandá Candomblé House. Mother Gunzo, as she is called, is a non-binary LGBTQ+ priestess and has a lifelong journey with gender equality inside the Candomblé tradition and anti-racist struggle in São Paulo,  Brazil. Her daughter Kaloyá, will host the event and will share an Opening Orácle reading session. The evening ends with a performance piece by Lyon Zion called “Dança para Exu”

Talk + Oracle + Performance + food

Language: Brazilian/English/Dutch

15 euros

Info: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/

Tickets: https://munganga.nl/

Or directly with the organizers

Contact: dimarco.thais@gmail.com and joana.faggin@gmail.com

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“8 pedras”(Renata Amaral) - Movie and after talk with the anthropologist Tarim Flach Date: 20 June - Thursday 19h -22h

Terecô, Tambor de Mina, Candomblé, Bumba Boi, Guarani People and Agudá community in Benin.

8 short episodes about masters and communities of Brazilian popular traditions finalized from 30 years of audiovisual records from the Maracá Collection.

Music documentaries bring an exuberant and vigorous popular culture, where the talent of the artists and the vitality of these traditions reveal diversity and identity in a contemporary Brazil.

Renata Amaral Graduated in composition and conducting, master and doctoral student in musical performance at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), she has performed throughout Brazil and Europe alongside artists such as A Barca, Ponto br, Tião Carvalho, Sebastião BIano and Orquestra Popular do Recife. Researcher and double bassist, since 1991 she has gathered the Maracá Collection, having produced more than 30 CDs and 12 award-winning documentaries of traditional genres. She held artistic residencies in Maranhão and Benin. She is the director of the film Pedra da Memória. Alongside the groups A Barca, Ponto br and Terno de Mestre Biano, she recorded seven CDs and gave more than 500 presentations in schools and universities with circulation, recording and art-education projects focusing on traditional culture.

We will have an after talk about the movie moderated by the anthropologist, trans and decolonial activist Tarim Flach. We will taste a delicious soup served by Marília e suas delícias.

Movie + Talk + Soup 

Entrance: 5 euro (reduction possible: contact us)

Language: Brazilian with subtitles in English

Info: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/

Tickets: https://munganga.nl/

Contact: dimarco.thais@gmail.com and

joana.faggin@gmail.com

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Divine Celebration - Caixeiras, Jongo, Batuque, Forró and more. Date: 29 June - Saturday 15h - 22h

To celebrate our encounter at CÍRCULO in 2024, we will close with a party starting with the workshop participants singing and drumming litanies to Oxalá, followed by Jongo drumming with researcher and chanter Marcela Varconte, musician Elisabeth Fadel and others, Forró das Flores and DJ Pyranã. We will also cut the traditional Divino Cake to make our lives sweeter and Caldinho de Feijão. 

From 15h to 18h open doors Caixeiras litanies to Oxalá, from 18h on presentations and Djs

Concerts + Party + Cake + Food

Entrance: 15 euro (exceptions possible: contact us)

Everyone is welcome!

Info: https://circulo-amsterdam.tumblr.com/

Tickets: https://munganga.nl/

Contact: dimarco.thais@gmail.com and

joana.faggin@gmail.com

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BRAZIL - Diasporas and forced migration

The “Caixa do Divino” is the only exclusively womxn drumming and singing tradition in Brazil and exists in the context of Candomblé Houses (afro-indigenous diasporic semi-autonomous land) and Maroon Communities as part of the celebrations of Oxalá, an ancient force of nature that praise for the prophecy of The Earth having hundred years of peace through the ruling of children.

Brazil is the country that had historically the largest forced migration population from the African continent in the world during more than 400 years of enslavement operated by the Portuguese Empire and financed by colonial enterprises based in France, Spain and The Netherlands. There would be a lot to be said about the global implications of this nefarious economic strategy and the immense welfare that was taken and stolen from the colonised country. Activities such as gold and silver mining, sugar cane, cotton and coffee plantations, and animal breeding are among the activities that support this economic strategy, enforcing an intense exploiting project for the benefit of Eurocentric economies. This economic strategy is still in place in the current globalized economic context, and it had and has immense implications for the livelihood of millions of people and the environment, including the destruction of the Amazon and other forest biomes, contributing to the current alarming climate change crisis affecting the whole planet.

During the implementation of this economic strategy based on the slavering labour model,  the whole of the Americas suffered the biggest known genocide in history; in 100 years of colonisation, 97% of the native population was brutally killed. In this regard, besides not being the focus of this project, we believe that it is important to highlight that the Eurocentric perspective tries to re-tell colonisation stories, removing or hiding the horrors done to the original populations in the Americas, to their territories and the global consequences it has until nowadays.

In this context, this project aims to acknowledge the complex diasporic ethnic culture or resistance and the permanence and continuity of people (s) and lands throughout this violent process, despite and beyond all the difficulties. This resistance process made Brazil one of the most prominent and welcoming places for immigrant populations. Brazil has the largest remaining indigenous protected territories in the world, the largest African-descendent population outside the African continent, the largest Japanese community outside Japan, the largest Lebanese community outside Lebanon, and huge communities of Italian, Spanish, German, Chinese, Romani and Jewish people, among many others. Nowadays, despite the process of forcing their mixing, this diversity of populations living in Brazil holds a place where anyone can become and name themselves, for the good and the bad, as Brazilian. One of these mixing strategies, not from the perspective of oppression but from the standpoint of resistance, resulted in the interchange of two main traditional structures: the Amerindian cosmology and the African diaspora.